The Hindu     05.09.2012

Namakkal Municipality to build shopping mall at Rs. 23.5 crore

The Namakkal Municipality, which won the third best municipality award from Chief Minister Jayalalithaa at the 66th Independence Day celebration, is planning to give a facelift to the developing town by establishing a shopping mall near the Tiruchengode and Salem Road junction.

Municipal Chairman R. Karigalan said that it would be the first of its kind mall in the State to be established by a local body.

The three-storied building would have a built-in area of 83,900 sq. ft. and would be built at an estimate Rs. 23.5 crore on 2.29 acres in front of the municipality’s daily and weekly regulatory markets.

The mall would have two mini theatres on the third floor, escalators connecting all the floors, parking space for 150 vehicles, common area and state of the art facilities.

Mr. Karigalan said that the poultry, education and truck bodybuilding and transportation sectors are fast developing here and its growth had already attracted many leading brands to establish their outlet in the town.

“The strategic location of the mall is expected to attract renowned brands to have their outlet here”, he added. According to him 30 shops would be built in the ground floor on 20,700 sq. ft.

The first floor would have 24 shops on an area of 24,900 sq. ft., while the second floor with a floor area of 21,300 sq. ft. for the two mini theatres and 16 shops. The third floor would have 14 shops on an area of 17,000 sq. ft.

The Chairman said that a minimum deposit of Rs. 1,000 per sq. ft. would be collected from persons who are renting the shops.

“We expect the total deposit collected from them to cross Rs. 8.4 crore. Representatives and officials of the municipality have discussed pros and cons of the mall and presented it before the District Collector.

Plan for the mall has come to shape and we are soon expecting approval for the same from the Commissioner of Municipal Administration, after which work would begin with pre tender deposit collected from investors – who want to occupy the shops after completion.

A loan would be obtained to complete the construction.“We estimate annual rent of Rs. three crore to be collected from these shops”, the Chairman added.Officials said that they expect deposit to the tune of Rs. two crore from the market and generate annual revenue of Rs. 46 lakh for the Municipality.

The Hindu    05.09.2012

Underground drainage works hit traffic flow

V.S. Palaniappan

Laborious task:Workers laying pre stressed concrete pipes on Puliakulam Road in the city as part of the Under Ground Drainage scheme and (right) a traffic snarl on one side of the road.- PHOTOS: S. SIVA SARAVANAN 

The ongoing works for laying Under Ground Drainage (UGD) pipelines from Lakshmi Mills Junction to Nanjundapuram Road Sewage Treatment plant site for a little over 3.6 km is throwing traffic out of gear.

Chaotic traffic scenes on both stretches of the road only reiterate the need for efforts on the part of the Corporation for being a little friendlier towards the motorists and residents and also the need for two or three policemen in both the stretches to regulate the flow of vehicles to avoid chaos and heated exchanges among motorists over right of way.

The Corporation has embarked on the work for constructing manholes for every 30 m and for laying one-metre diameter Pre Stressed Concrete (PSC) pipes for carrying the sewage from the city to the treatment plant site at almost the tail end of Nanjundapuram Road.

Chambers

At present, one side of the road has been taken up for digging and laying pipelines besides construction of manhole chambers at every 30 meters.

The remaining side of the road, measuring 30 to 35 ft in width has to accommodate traffic both ways.At some places, the contractor carrying out the underground drainage work for the Corporation has placed the PSC pipes occupying some motorable space.

In the absence of these pipes, the motorist would find it easy to steer towards the extreme end of the road to give way to an oncoming heavy vehicle such as truck or bus.In the absence of the space, traffic snarls are becoming the order of the day, especially during peak hours, says C.G. Kumar, a lawyer residing on Nanjundapuram Road.

Understanding the need for taking up such infrastructure-related works and the related inconvenience, Mr. Kumar pointed out that the authorities could plan slightly better.

The work could be turned a little friendlier for the motorist by slightly pushing the alignment of the underground drainage line to the left side of the road, so that there would be some space on the other side for accommodating traffic in either direction.

Absence of street lights and poor lighting on Nanjundapuram Road accompanied by absence of caution signs in the form of barricading or retro reflective tapes was adding to the woes.

First-time users of the stretch are facing the risk of meeting with an accident, he added.Puliakulam Road from Vinayakar Temple to Kidney Centre, where the work has just begun, was witnessing chaotic traffic during peak hours as just one side of the road alone was available for movement of vehicles.

Diversion

There is scope for diverting the traffic on this stretch through other parallel roads, for all except those who want to reach specific places on this stretch, says Saravanan residing on the Red Fields Road.

On the other hand, Nanjundapuram Road residents are left with no other option but to wade through the chaotic traffic.

Mr. Kumar added that the civic body should find ways and means to reduce the inconvenience caused and get the assistance of the city police to regulate the flow of traffic in stretches where the work has commenced.

In fact, more than 200 landline telephone numbers of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in Nanjundapuram Road area were reportedly not working for the last four days.

Inquiries revealed that the digging had resulted in snapping of cables and the BSNL authorities were working since Monday to restore these telephones.