Kolathur definitely makes headlines whenever in the news, and the reason behind this is not entirely unknown. A high profile constituency represented by the DMK’s current chief ministerial candidate M K Stalin, Kolathur always draws special attention and finds mention in news discussions.

Located in the north-western part of Chennai, Kolathur is equidistant from both Koyambedu bus station and Chennai Central railway station, and is well-connected by road with all major localities of the city. Close by are the highly developed residential, commercial and industrial centres — Anna Nagar, Purasawalkam and ICF respectively.

Since its inclusion within city limits, Kolathur has developed rapidly and is now home to a majority of educated people. It has six multi-speciality hospitals and a few colleges, and is developing further with many commercial outlets being built in close proximity. Doctors, students, employees and business people constitute a major chunk of residents here. 

Kolathur assembly constituency consists of Srinivasa Nagar, Senthil Nagar, Periyar Nagar, Kumaran Nagar, Poombugar Nagar, Agaram, Sembiam and Ayanavaram localities.

Votes cast (2016)

• Total number of voters: 167218 (excluding postal votes)
• Male Voters: 85372
• Female voters: 81841
• Third gender: 5
• Polling percentage: 64.79%

Incumbent MLA

• Name: M K Stalin (DMK). Stalin was elected from the Kolathur constituency in 2016 and sworn in as the leader of the opposition in the TN Assembly. This was his second consecutive win since the constituency’s establishment in 2011. Earlier he won the Thousand Lights assembly seat four times — in 1989, 1996, 2001 and 2006 and lost twice from the same seat in 1984 and 1991.
• Party: DMK
• Age: 68
• Profile: He was the Minister for Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj in Karunanidhi’s cabinet during 2006-2011. In 2009 he went on to become the first Deputy CM of the state, which he served until 2011. Stalin previously served as the mayor of Chennai from 1996-2001 and was secretary of the DMK youth wing for 47 years from 1982, until his son took over in 2019. Stalin was unanimously made the party president in 2018.
• Address: 25/9, Chittaranjan Road, Cenotaph 2nd Street, Chennai-600018
• Name enrolled as voter in: Mylapore (Tamil Nadu) constituency, at Serial no 127 in Part no 24 
• Contact Number: 04424356600
• Criminal cases: Six

Source : Mynetainfo

Promises made

Before the 2016 elections, M K Stalin had announced that if voted to power, DMK shall implement Fourth Police Commission for a corruption-free and political intervention free style of law and order functioning in the state. Stalin also promised a permanent solution to drinking water woes, drainage and sewage overflowing problems and assured that he would meet voters’ demands for libraries and gymnasiums in the area.

In the news

• DMK working President Stalin wrote a letter on October 6, 2020 to the Chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami, urging him to pass a resolution against farm laws. The three farm bills enacted by the central government earlier that year drew huge criticism from farmers and various state governments for being capitalist-friendly and bringing few benefits to farmers.
• M.K.Stalin on February 25,2021 took a jibe at Palaniswami again for raising the retirement age to 60. Though he supported it in principle and considered it a good move, Stalin alleged that the government’s hike in retirement age came in the wake of upcoming assembly elections this year. In May last year, the retirement age had been raised from 58 to 59. 

2016 election results

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Key issues

In view of the serious water scarcity issues in the city, Stalin made several efforts to create and renovate ponds in his constituency through the MLA development funds.

Read more: Panel discussion: What the city really wants from the new government

A lot of Corporation schools were beautified in the past five years, said Vaidyanathan C, a Kolathur resident. However, there are still major infrastructural lapses in the constituency such as:

• The road over bridge at the level crossing of Villivakkam Railway station remains incomplete, nine years after the project was announced in 2012. The absence of the ROB is strongly felt by motorists and other road users who have to wait at the level crossing, whenever a train passes by. “The long wait is resulting in traffic congestion. Residents, on the other hand take a detour to go to localities such as Villivakkam and Anna Nagar,” said Vaidyanathan.
• Illegal parking of vehicles on roads and in bus depots also causes major inconvenience to the public in Ayanavaram. Residents complain about difficulty in free movement of public transport, with private vehicles parked on both sides of the road, and police failure to clear abandoned vehicles for days, sometimes even months. 
• Based on a news report alleging more than 3000 encroachments on Kolathur lake, the National Green Tribunal’s southern zone initiated suo-motu proceedings. It highlighted the swallowed-up portions and encroachments, including a 200 feet road that cuts across the lake. The NGT ordered a committee to be formed, comprised of the Tiruvallur district collector, superintending engineer PWD, a senior officer from CMWSSB, CMDA, GCC and an expert professor in hydrology from Anna University. The Committee has to submit a factual report, while the TNPCB has to find out if there has been any violation of the Solid Waste Management Rules and submit an action taken report against violators.
• Kolathur seems to have never ending problems around drinking water and traffic. An overhead water tank in Thanikachalam Nagar, started in 2009, is yet to be finished since its start. Families there have to pay substantial amounts as drinking water charges, but there is no drinking water pipeline connection. Additionally, Jawahar Nagar suffers from water scarcity, sewage overflow and garbage disposal issues.
• A few other generic issues include decreasing tree cover in Periyar Nagar and narrowing of the Red Hills Road at Srinivas Nagar between Villivakkam and Kolathur.

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