Madurai’s street name boards: Defaced, damaged or missing

Madurai: Many of Madurai's street names are remnants of a glorious era, but the boards that display them are a picture of neglect and vandalism today — defaced, damaged, or even having outdated information. While the names of many areas and streets carry a sense of pride and honour among residents, the state of these boards only serves to confuse people trying to navigate the city.In Anna Nagar, some street name boards have been lying damaged and unrepaired for a long time. "We have stopped using street names, and instead say landmarks when giving directions," says B Velakanni, a resident of Anna Nagar, who cites many areas where signboards are completely missing. In KK Nagar, some street names are damaged or entirely covered by posters. "These posters are usually put up at night to avoid fines," said a shopkeeper in the area, adding that even when they are removed, new ones spring up in a few days.
"According to public records, there are 8,098 streets in Madurai, whereas there were only 3,806 determined streets in 2022 before ward delimitation," said activist and advocate R Manibharathi. He said many of the streets that were added later still lack proper signage, while others were not updated to reflect the new ward and zone number correctly. "We have no accurate way of knowing which ward is which, because we do not know which name board to trust," said Kumar, an auto driver operating in Goripalayam."It is especially difficult for people without access to GPS, because many small streets are unmarked," Manibharathi said, giving the example of Nagupillai Thoppu, behind St Mary's Church. "Only the main road is marked properly in this area, leaving people to guess which street to turn into.""Madurai is a city full of heritage dating back to the Sangam era, many centuries ago. Many streets still carry names that were given back then, such as Alavaikara Lane," says N Karthikeyan, a writer who recently co-authored ‘Naam Tholaitha Madurai Veedhigal' along with A Thamizhiniyal. "Although there are only a few houses on that street these days, it still carries that history, but there is no name board to signify that," Karthikeyan said."The name board for Eluthanikara Street, which was once the centre for crafting of styluses used during Sangam era for writing, is damaged and caked in dust," he said, adding that he took it upon himself to recently clean and maintain name boards of historical streets across Madurai, in an effort to preserve its heritage.A Madurai corporation official said they are undertaking repairs on damaged street name boards. "Whenever we are called to do any repairs, we also ensure that the board is updated with the correct information as well," they said. The official added that all street name boards will show the correct information soon.