Katpadi residents seek solution to heavy traffic congestion, lack of jobs for local youth

Bifurcated from Gudiyatham Assembly constituency way back in 1962, Katpadi seat was won by the AIADMK at least thrice between 1977 and 1991.

Since 1996, the DMK’s strongman Duraimurugan, party’s general secretary and Minister for Water Resources now, has won six consecutive times, making it his own fort. In 2021, however, Mr. Duraimurugan won with a margin of a mere 746 votes, the lowest victory margin secured in the seat since it was formed over six decades ago.

Tucked between busy Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway (NH-48) and dry Palar river, Katpadi is a bustling urban agglomerate with high-rise buildings, multiplexes, shopping malls, and multi-cuisine restaurants.

“Traffic congestion remains the perennial problem for many years. School vans and ambulances get stuck on the key stretch that connects residential, commercial areas and the railway station,” said E. Ganesh, president, 14th ward Residents Welfare Association. 

Mr. Ganesh is a member of the District Consumer Board that comprises elected representatives, residents’ welfare associations, officials of various government departments and the civic body as members to address public grievances. District Election Officer and Collector V.R. Subbulaxmi is the chairperson of the board, which organises stakeholders meeting once every three months.

“Apart from traffic congestion, clogging of the existing canal that discharges excess rainwater into Palar river is another irritant, as it leads to mosquito breeding in the area,” said S. Ranganathan, a resident.

Residents said that the district administration and Corporation should utilise streets and lanes in Katpadi to decongest key stretches like Old Katpadi Road between the railway station and Green Circle, a roundabout below Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway.

As most of the government hospitals with better facilities are located in Old Town areas, patients in Katpadi get stuck in the traffic on these key stretches. Residents said that light vehicles like cars, auto rickshaws and two-wheelers should be diverted to lanes and streets with safety measures to decongest arterial roads in Katpadi.  

The constituency also covers numerous surrounding villages that come under Katpadi, Vellore and Walajah taluks. Vast tracts of farmland are under paddy cultivation in these villages. Farmers largely depend on tank irrigation, with the Palar river remaining a major water source.

A series of check dams have been built across the river by the Water Resources Department (WRD) since 2021 to recharge groundwater in surrounding villages. Farmers sought the construction of such check dams and the implementation of water conservation efforts to accelerate agriculture growth in the area.

Despite being an urban area, Katpadi still largely depends on agriculture, which is the mainstay of its economy. The constituency does not have any large-scale industries to provide jobs for local youth. A proposal to set up a SIPCOT complex also faces challenges as residents oppose the acquisition of farmland for the project. Residents demand that industrial units should be established on a large scale to propel growth in the area.

Number of polling stations: 251