Freebies? No, thanks, say voters just give us basics

Chennai: Freebies? Prohibition? No, thanks. Stick to the basics and you'll form the next government.

A potentially election-winning number of voters are more concerned about issues that are staring everyone but politicians in the face: 48% of respondents in Chennai in a survey by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) cited traffic congestion as the most important issue for the next government to address; for almost 35%, water and air pollution was the main concern; and 33% said they would vote for a party that delivers steps to curb noise pollution.

The response from Chennaiites is part of a larger study that the the NGO conducted among 16,000 people in TN and, if it is a pointer to general sentiment, political parties across the field could well trip on their election planks come May 16.

The study exposes a clear disconnect between what the people want and what the government thinks they want. It asked the respondents to rank the performance of the outgoing government on a scale of 1 to 25, best to worst. Guess what? They gave it 24 for road traffic management and 21 for noise pollution.

The respondents ranked water and air pollution as one of the top three problems the city faces but also gave the government the best marks for its attempts to deal with the menace.

"Noise pollution is a major issue but nobody talks about it," Mandaveli resident Surekha Johnson said. "Traffic too is a major problem."