Poonamkulam village in Chennai's backyard laments poor facilities

For the agraian constituency of Tiruvallur its not the spectrum controversy, but the spectrum of woes they suffer that take centrestage this elections. K Rajammal, a resident of Poonankulam village which falls within the agrarian Tiruvallur constituency is disgusted with lack of development in her village. " There is no proper bus service, sufficient drinking water facility or proper roads here.We will only vote for the party which gives us money," says Rajammal, whose village is barely 60 km from Chennai city.
"Though we got free colour TV we did not get any other freebie announced by the government. Despite several pleas to the sitting MLA, the village does not have any basic facilities. It does not matter which party comes to power. We will at least get some money for our votes," she adds.
Sitting MLA E A P Sivaji takes cover under delimitation. "Poonankulam was with the Tiruttani constituency before delimitation. So, I could not help them," says Sivaji.
The villagers have been crying hoarse for proper water supply, better roads, continous power supply and bus service. The most backward caste of Vanniyars and Mudaliyars and dalits are the dominant communities here. The Vanniyar-dominated Pandur village vows to vote for the DMK as the PMK is part of the front.
S Balaji of Sathurangapettai village said the local committee decided to vote for the DMK as the party has delivered whatever it has promised. DMK candidate Sivaji belongs to the Mudaliyar community. The Naidus, who are in a minority, support AIADMK candidate R V Ramana from the community. Educated voters in Tiruvallur town are likely to vote for Ramana. The power cuts and price hike are issues that are likely to dominate the polls here.