Light shines on RK Nagar, but throats stay parched

Just a few kilometres from Fort St George, from where chief minister J Jayalalithaa steers affairs of the state, lies her constituency of Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar. It's a densely populated working class locality, which gained prominence last June, after Jayalalithaa was acquitted of all charges in the disproportionate assets case and chose to contest from here to enter the assembly.
Since the constituency voted her in with a margin of 1.5 lakh votes, Jayalalithaa, 68, has been showering it with infrastructure such as LED lights and facilities for pedestrians.Water supply, though, is a problem. Old oil pipelines criss crossing the locality have started leaking and the groundwater is contaminated. About 280 water tankers make daily trips to the locality to fill 530 storage tanks. Every pot of water costs `1 and local leaders collude to make money from water supply. The old oil pipelines were laid to connect the localities of Harbour and Ennore with HPCLand BPCL terminals in Tondiarpet. In some residential neighbourhoods, the piped water supply carries traces of petroleum and a foul smell.
Large, long-awaited infrastructure projects, however, have been commissioned, giving the area a facelift. A flyover on Kathivakkam High Road, under construction for eight years, was completed, and a pedestrian bridge connecting MGR Nagar and Nehru Nag ar on Buckingham canal built. Foundation stones for new taluk, civil supplies and regional transport offices and an Amma pharmacy and Amma marriage hall were laid. A highrise to accommodate an arts and science college and an ITI is coming up on Kamarajar Salai. All these projects are Jayalalithaa's way of saying thank you to voters.
In February, when she visited the constituency, she told them, “I will never forget Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar for having elected me to the legislative assembly and as chief minister. You have a special place in my heart.“
Now residents are looking for an exten sion of the metrorail to north Chennai via R K Nagar.
Though Jayalalithaa is al Though Jayalalithaa is al most certain to pull off a win again, the other parties are all set to put up a big fight.
Rivals are harping on her inaccessibility. RK Nagar was badly affected by last year's floods and Jayalalithaa made but one visit -and she ad dressed the crowd from her vehicle.
DMK has fielded Shimla Muthuchozhan, daughter-inlaw of party deputy general secretary S P Sarguna Pandian. Muthucho zhan, 35, making her debut in politics, has been campaigning for the past few days, promising voters better roads and water supply and playing up the fact that she lives in the constituency. Her mother-in-law, who has won the seat twice, is guiding her, and Muthuchozhan says, “Jayalalithaa is an invisible MLA and CM, and, since I am a local resident, I am accessible around the clock.“
PMK's candidate, a social worker named P Agnes, told reporters after her candidature was announced that she had “specifically requested RK Nagar, as I want to im prove infrastructure in the constituency“.
She pointed to the poor state of the roads and irregular water supply, before reiterating her party's longstanding promise of prohibition. “If elected, I will close all Tasmac shops in the constituency,“ she said. “Alcoholism is an evil that has made many women widows, even in my family,“ the 50-year-old social worker said.
The last of the major players to declare its candidate was the PWF-DMDK front represented by Thol Thirumavalavan's VCK.The party has decided to field academic Vasanthi Devi, 77, a former university vice-chancellor with experience in the field of women's and children's rights, making the contest an all-woman one. No matter what the outcome, this will be a contest to keep an eye on.