Chennai mayor R Priya resumes grievance meet

CHENNAI: In a fresh approach in the New Year, Chennai mayor R Priya on Thursday initiated a door-to-door grievance meet. She walked with officials and met residents, observing the issues and hearing their grievances.

She started the drive in the Kolathur constituency and covered a few roads, including Mayilappa Street, Bangaru Street and Pilkington Road, in wards 66, 87, 68, and 70. The drive will happen every day, covering several areas in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Ambattur, Harbour, Royapuram and other areas.

The mayor met around 76 residents and asked them about their issues. During the interactions, officials took note of the issues and issued the residents reference numbers to track the issues on the GCC website.

Priya told reporters that said she had received complaints about abandoned cars, property tax and anganwadi redevelopment. Officials, who accompanied her, noted the complaints for redressal.

"The goal is to meet people and have a better understanding of the ground issues. I take all the local officials during the walk," she said, adding that most small issues like debris, nameboards, or garbage issues were solved on the spot.

The mayor said 3,000 roads were being patched in the city currently.

The grievance meet drive comes almost a year after the Makkalai Thedi Mayor initiative, in which the mayor chose one zone a month and met the people at a common place. The Makkalai Thedi Mayor initiative did not sustain after the first four months. Priya said they were simultaneously improving GCC's grievance redressal apps to ensure the complaint system was fixed in all forms.