UNGA AREA - Taramani

UNGA AREA - Taramani

Here comes the latest update from Namma Area.

After writing random posts about Namma Chennai, Now I have decided to write about all the areas of Chennai one after other under the title “UNGA AREA”. 

It will be covered in some sequence whereby I try to cover all the areas of Chennai. Do support me with your inputs and feedback.

Unga Area has its inaugural post today and it will be about “TARAMANI”.

Location:

Taramani starts from “MADHYA KAILASH TEMPLE” and it is the place which connects Adyar, Tiruvanmiyur, Velacherry and Perungudi. Rajiv Gandhi Salai (Old Mahabalipuram Road), Taramani Link Road were the major roads which connects us to Taramani.

Taramani is known for the IT Parks and IT companies. TARAMANI name reason is yet to be known (If any of you know, do let me know).

Hospitals in Taramani:

• ·       VHS Hospital – Rajiv Gandhi Salai, Taramani . Ph: 044 22542975, 22542973
• 
  
• ·         Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital , Tharamani Road. Ph: 044 2243 0444
• 
  
• ·         Y. R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education. Ph: 044 2254 2929
• 
  

Buses passing through Taramani:

Bus No	Start	Destination	Route
5C	Taramani	Broadway	Madhya Kailash, Kotturpuram, Alwarpet, Royapettah, Chennai Central
5K	Taramani	Mylapore
5T	Taramani	Vadapalani	Saidapet, T.Nagar, Ashok pillar, K.K.Nagar
7K	Taramani	T.Nagar	Saidapet, Anna university, CPT, WPT,Tidel park
M70 xt	Anna Nagar West	Thiruvanmiyur	Thirumangalam, CMBT, Vadapalani, Ashok nagar, Guindy, Checkpost, Velacherry, Taramani, SRP tools, Jayanthi
H51	Broadway	Tambaram East	Secretariat, Kannaki Statue, QMC, Kalyani Hospital, Luz, Mylapore, Mandaveli BS, AMS, Adyar Depot, SRP tools, Taramani, Velachery, Pallikaranai, Medavakkam, Santhosapuram, Kamarajapuram, Camp road, Convent
M70	CMBT	Thiruvanmiyur	Vadapalani, Ashok nagar, Guindy, Checkpost, Velacherry, Taramani, SRP tools, Jayanthi
V21	Guduvanchery	Thiruvanmiyur	SRP, Taramani, Velachery, Kamatchi Hospital, Chromepet, Tambaram
5G	Kannagi Nagar	T. Nagar	Saidapet, Velachery, Taramani, RMZ, Perugudi
V21	Thiruvanmiyur	Guduvanchery	SRP, Taramani, Velachery, Kamatchi Hospital, Chromepet, Tambaram
19V	Kovalam	Velachery	Taramani, SRP Tools, Jayanthi, Thiruvanmiyur, Injambakkam, MGM, Muttukadu

Railway Station:

Taramani has a railway station (MRTS – Flying Train) and the station comes in between Tiruvanmiyur and Perungudi.

Other Essential Contacts:

• ·         EB Office : Near Tidel Park, Tharamani Road, Tharamani, Chennai – 600113 Ph: 044-22541802, +91 9445850555
• ·         Post Office: CSIR Road, No. ,Tharamani, Chennai – 600113 - 044 – 22542995
• ·         Tahsildar Office : No 113, Near American School, V V Kovil Street 100 Feet Road, Tharamani, Chennai – 600113. Ph:044-22541727
• ·         Corporation Office: +91 9445467180

Major Landmarks:

• ·      Madhya Kailash Temple
• ·         IITM
• ·         Film Institute
• ·         CLRI
• ·         NIFT
• ·         M S Swaminathan Research Foundation
• ·         Asian College of Journalism
• ·         Central Polytechnic College
• ·         Tidel Park
• ·         Ascendas tech park
• ·         Institute of Mathematical Sciences etc

Residents Speaks…… :

SABARI, the resident of Taramani has put forth the following points about Taramani:

“ Taramani was once a drain area from the higher parts of the city, kind of bird sanctuary, it was much like forested Vedanthangal in the earlier days. Even now if we go from Velachery through train to taramani, We can see varied species of birds near the lake beside Taramani station!

And safety supposed to be the major concern when it comes to Taramani. We have railway station but it should have proper security. It could be better if the Tasmac should be removed from the main road to some other place.”

VALLI, another resident from Taramani says,

“Thanks to the mini bus service which has reduced my walking distance. But the frequency of the mini bus can be increased, right now we have mini bus every half an hour. There is no proper drainage system in our place. Traffic is heavy whole day. There is NO SIGNAL in Taramani link road and it invites problems to both pedestrians and vehicles as well. Taramani is surrounded with the IT parks and the government institutes. Now the roads are improving and proper street lights have been installed and put into use. Taramani has got its police station last year and the crimes has brought down since then.”

Those who want to write about your area, you are welcome to make a guest post here. 

Please mail your interest & suggestions to innovativedeepak87@gmail.com.

Meet you all in my next post in UNGA AREA.

With Cheers,

Deepak Raghuraman

Time to Vote ! ~ A Ready Referencer to the Voters...

Time to Vote ! 

~ A Ready Referencer to the Voters...

24th April 2014 - The day to exercise our right to vote. It's our nation, our netha and our right to vote and to choose the right person as a prime minster. A lot has been shared and talked about the political situation, pros and cons of the leaders etc and now the time has come to choose the right candidate of our choice. The election has already been started in many other states and for Tamil Nadu it will be on 24th April 2014 - Thursday. 

Firstly I would like to say thanks to all those who have encouraged me to write this post as a sequel to my earlier post about Applying Voters ID Card Online. I am very glad to know that many people have got their voters ID through online application after reading my post. And sorry to few others whom I couldnt reply to their queries being raised by way of mail and through comments. Anyways, now the time has come to make use of the Voters ID card. 

By this time, the booth slips would have been issued to all the households and the first time voters would be happy in seeing their name in the voters list. On the other hand, it also brings some confusions of the name not being included in the list. I hope this post provides solution for those confusions. I will be categorizing the confusions / questions as below : 

1. How to Vote (For the first time voters)

2. What needs to be done if the name was not in the list

3. How to vote if we dont have Voters ID (Alternative documents in the absence of Voters ID)

1. First Time Voters - How to Vote : 

Follow the queue and reach the polling area. First the officials will verify the documents and then you will be inked in your finger. Then you will be allowed to the cabin where the Voting Machine is kept. The cabin is confidential, no one else other than you can see this machine and you are assured of the privacy. 

Image Source: indiaevm.org

This is how the voting machine will look. 

1. Candidates' names are written along with their party's symbol. Identify the party / person whom you want to vote for.

2. This is the button which you need to press to cast your vote. You can press this button only once. Once you pressed, a beep sound will come which confirms you that you are done with voting. 

Name not in the list / Booth Slip ?

I am sure few people might felt disappointed to see their name not been there in the list / booth slip, including me :)  We got the booth slips for every other person in our family except mine and dad's. Now the doubt arises as to how to vote if we didnt find our name in the list ?

There may be many reasons for our name being not in the list which the officials brings along with the booth slips. One of the major reason is the change in address. So if your name was not there in the list, dont be panic. You still can vote. Follow the procedure below :

Step 1:  Click here (http://www.elections.tn.gov.in/pdf/dt2eng.htm)

Step 2: A window like this will open. 

Step 3: Select your constituency. For Eg: Select Chepauk - Thiruvallikkeni..

Step 4 : A window like this will open.

Step 5 : Press Ctrl + F and search with your "PRESENT STREET NAME" Ie. The street in which you are currently residing. Click on the link which was corresponding to your street name and it will open the voters list of that particular street(s) / Area(s).   The same PDF will have the booth address, along with the room in which you need to go and vote.

Step 6 : It is a PDF document and again you can use Ctrl + F to find / search your name in the PDF document. If it is found in that PDF, then that's it, you are eligible to vote. No issues even if you dont have the booth slip with you. If you didn't find your name in the list, go to step 7.

Step 7 : Follow the procedure as in STEP 5 but  now search with your "OLD STREET NAME" Ie. The street in which you were resided earlier and follow the same procedure to find your name.  

Note: If you are in doubt regarding your address in Election records, you can find it easily by clicking here (http://www.elections.tn.gov.in/EPICSEARCH/). Just type your EPIC Number (Voters ID Number) and click search. It will provide you the address as per their records.

Alternative Documents in the Absence of Voter's ID:

Have you lost your Voter's ID or you kept the Voter's ID at some other place which you can't bring it on the election date ? No Worries..... In the absence of voter's ID, we can use any of the below mentioned ID proof to cast our votes. 

• Passports
• Driving Licence 
• Service Identity Cards issued to its employees by State/Central Government, Public Sector Undertakings, Public Limited Companies
• Bank/ Post Office Passbooks with your photograph
• PAN cards
• Adhar Card 
• Smart Cards issued by RGI under NPR 
• MNREGA job card 
• Health Insurance smart card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour  
• Pension documents with photographs

The chief electoral officer Mr.Praveen Kumar said in a statement: "Those electors who are not able to produce the EPIC (Voters ID) and those electors who are not able to establish the identity of the elector on account of mismatch of the photograph, etc. shall produce any of the alternative photo identity documents for establishing their identity. The necessity is that the name of the voter should be on the electoral roll."

It is quoted by the Election Commission in their statement that, On the polling day, one officer will be on duty outside each polling station, during polling hours with undistributed photo voter slips, so that any elector who has not been issued the slip can collect it in original outside the polling stations.

It has also been clarified that if any elector uses an elector's photo identity card, which has been issued by the electoral registration officer of another assembly constituency, such cards shall also be taken into account provided the name of that elector finds place on the electoral roll pertaining to the polling station.

The possession of EPIC or other form of identity prescribed by the commission above will not entitle a person to exercise his or her vote, unless his or her name is found on the electoral roll supplied to the polling station, according to the Chief Electoral Officer.

Find Your Polling Booth Through SMS: 

Type <EPIC> <space> <Voter ID No.> Send to 9444123456 to know your Polling Station.

Key Facts About Elections 2014 : 

• For the first time in Indian Election history, NOTA (None Of The Above) option will be available for voters. If you dont want to vote for any of the candidates, you can press that button.
• This is going to be the first Election year when Transgenders will be able to vote under a section "Others".
• The date for counting of General Election votes is May 16, 2014.

Note: Mobile phones are not allowed inside the poll booth due to security reasons. And heard from the voters of other state that there is no provision to keep the mobile outside the booth to  the security personnel. So make sure that you are not carrying the mobile phone to the booth. Thanks to Mira mam for this valuable information.

Conclusion:

Voting is our right, do exercise it to choose the right candidate as our Prime Minister. Exercise your right to vote and proud to be a part of democratic country. Make your votes count. Forget every other commitments on this Thursday, Just spare few hours in voting and selecting the best candidate of your choice.  Go Vote and Bring the Change!

With Cheers,

Deepak Raghuraman

Water Please !!! - A Request to the Business Units & Households

Water Please !!!

A Request to keep water in front of the houses / shops to beat the summer thirst

The summer has already started and the Chennai is surrounded with the heat waves everywhere. A lot of tips have been shared to for a healthy and safe summer and to beat the heat. On a lighter note, it has been said that Chennai will have only three seasons - Hot, Hotter and Hottest and we are in the third phase. With the failure of monsoon rains, this summer is going to be troublesome. 

Diseases & Infections:

The months of April & May will always trouble the people esp those who are in Chennai. Along with the heat waves, it also brings some diseases and infections like 

• Dehydration
• Hypertension
• Urinary Infections (Especially among women)
• Chicken Pox
• Dengue etc., 

But it should be noted that the summer sees lesser number of diseases and infections when comparing to the winter season, as said by Dr.Narasimhan for TOI. So no need to be panic on these diseases. 

Drink More Water:

One thing is common that, the lesser intake of water and fluid items were the major reason for those above mentioned diseases and infections.  So it is essential that we should drink more water during this summer , especially when you are going out under the sun. 

My Small Request to the Business Units & Households:

I want to putforth my suggestion here. I have a request for the food joints / restaurants / business units.  Since the summer has started, the water seems to be most essential thing for every one. Why don't we keep a can of water at the entrance of our restaurant/Mess/Food joints / Business units which will help the needy - The marketing people, The delivery boys, passerby people.  

Also, selling butter milk at the entrance will do good. I agree we do sell the butter milk inside our restaurant, but many people would buy only if they find it in the entrance instead of getting into the restaurant / mess, I believe. Also requesting the Households and Flat Associations to keep cans of water at the entrance of their house / flats. 

Why don't we adapt PYAU system as found in Rajasthan:

I came to know from Mr.Kishalya Sharma of Rajasthan that, in Rajasthan, they have a concept of "Pyau" - ie. Stalls of water which is organized by a charitable trust, local community or even by individuals in front of their homes at most of the places. It is free for the public and in some cases people with their goodwill do donate some money to it like a rupee etc.  This sounds really good and it is easy to be adapted to our city as well. The flat associations can take this route and I am sure the residents won't object if they asked to pay for this thing, which is a one time payment which can help many other people.

Conclusion:

It is easier said than being done. I am just sharing my suggestion which might hold good for this summer, but I don't know about the practical difficulties in implementing the same. Just a suggestion, feel free to comment with your views on the same. 

Serve Water, Save Life! 

Be the Change & See the Change.

Meet you all in my next post.

With Cheers,
Deepak Raghuraman

Pulse Polio Immunisation Campaign 2014 - Phase 2 (23rd Feb'14)

Pulse Polio Immunisation Campaign 2014 

Phase 2 (23rd Feb'14)

The second phase of Pulse Polio Immunisation Campaign is scheduled for today and it has started in almost all the places.

Some key points to keep in mind : 

• Immunisation booths will function from 7am to 5pm
• All children in the age group of 0-5 years should be given 2 drops of Polio vaccine today (23rd February). It is an addition to the one which was done during the first phase on January 21014.
• Children immunized recently under Routine Immunization Schedule should also to be given Polio drops on the campaign days
• Children of Migrant labourers are also given polio drops on the campaign days.

It is just a matter of about 15-20 minutes, and since the camp venues has been large in numbers, there won't be much crowd. So don't hesitate to take your kid to the nearest booth. 

Also requesting the readers who belongs to any FLAT ASSOCIATION to take a printout of this post or some other related post / newspaper article and paste it in the notice board. 


Do share this with your kits and kins. Join hands in making the healthy tomorrow. 

Based on the queries being raised by the readers on my post about earlier phase of Polio Drops, below are some clarifications which I got from Dr. Ganesh Puttu : 

Q: My baby is suffering from fever. So i didn't give polio drops. Should I give drops even if the kid is suffering from fever ?

A: Vaccination could have been done despite the fever.
-------------------
Q: I have missed both the camps for some reason. How can I vaccinate my kid in that circumstance? Do I need to wait till next year for the camp ? 

A: The free vaccination is done on a designated day - not daily - you can always visit a pediatrician to vaccinate at your convenience (which is not free, a paid one).
------------------

In a nut-shell :

Date of Immunisation Camp
23rd February’14 (Sunday) - 7 am to 5 pm

Age Group to be covered 
0-5 Years

Camps being held at
Nearest Corporation schools / Govt Hospitals / other Public Health Centers / Bus Stands / Airport / Railway Stations etc

With Cheers,
Deepak Raghuraman

Mowbray's Road (Alwarpet) - Name Reason

:: Chennai Factoids ::

:: Name reasons behind famous roads / streets in Chennai ::

:: MOWBRAY'S ROAD - ALWARPET ::

It has been quite a long since I posted about the name reasons. Now I am back, and today I am going to share the name reason behind the "MOWBRAY'S ROAD" in Alwarpet. Many of you might wonder on seeing this name and eager to know where it is located. Those who passed by the Music Academy should have known about this road. Yeah am talking about the same road where Music Academy is located. This road has been renamed as TTK Road now. It is good to have a old name board with the name "MOWBRAY'S ROAD" near Music Academy. It is there exactly in the Music Academy Bus Stop. This is one such busy road which connects major locations - Triplicane, Royapet, Mylapore and Adyar. Also, it has two famous halls (SABHAs) to its credit - Music Academy & Naradha Gana Sabha. Before talking much about the road, let me post about the person behind this road name.

Mowbray's Road is named after Mr. George Moubray who owned the city's first beautiful garden house "Moubray's Cupola" / "Moubray's Garden" on the banks of Adyar river in 1780s for an annual rent of Rs. 800/. 

Madras Club in the place of Moubray's Cupola.
Image Courtesy: Skyscrappercity.com

The house was a spacious colonial bungalow set in 105 acres of parkland and later became the Adyar Club in 1890 and now it has been taken over by Madras Club in April 1963. 

Moubray arrived in Madras in 1771 and was the first Accountant of Fort St. George, later became the Accountant General and a member of the first Board of Revenue in 1785.

The Moubray's Road, the long road leading from Royapet to Moubray's

Gardens (which is now Madras Club) was a cart-track in 1798. 

TTK Road (Mowbray's Road) - Earlier and Now

By 1816, it was a well-kept thoroughfare, avenued for the greater part of its length. And now it is renamed as Thiruvallur Thattai Krishnamachari Road (TTK Road). 

Landmarks in & around Mowbray's Road (TTK Road) :

• Music Academy
• Naradha Gana Sabha
• Focus Art Gallery
• Hotel Raj Park
• Spoonbill restaurant
• Park Sheraton / Adyar Gate Hotel
• New Town Cafe
• Univercell Head Office
• Chettiar Hall
• Ethiraj Marriage Hall
• Crossword book store
• Lifestyle and many more

Locate Yourself: 

Source: Google Maps

Source: Vestiges of Old Madras by Henry Davison Love, Under the fire star Blog, The Hindu, British Council website etc.,

Pulse Polio Immunisation Campaign 2014 - Phase 1

Pulse Polio Immunisation Campaign 2014 

Phase 1

If you are a parent of kid below age 5, Don't forget to immunize your child with Polio Drops tomorrow. The polio immunisation camp is scheduled for tomorrow (19th January'14) across the nation. 

As we all know, Polio is such a deadly disease. It can be prevented if we immunise ourself with the polio drops till the age of 5. Most of us are aware about this disease these days, but still hesitating to take the kids to the camp. Eventhough our country has proved to be a Polio-Free nation for the past 3 or 4 years, it is necessary to safeguard the kids. Better to be safe than sorry. It is just a matter of 15-20 minutes, do take your kid to the nearest camp and immunise them with the polio drops. 

Since we all know about the disease, I am not going to write about the disease and its severity. Instead I will be posting the excerpts of the GO issued by the TN Government regarding the Polio Immunisation Schedule.

• Immunisation booths will function from 7am to 5pm
• All children in the age group of 0-5 years should be given 2 drops of Polio vaccine in the first round (19-1-2014 Sunday) and again in the second round (23-2-2014 Sunday)
• Children immunized recently under Routine Immunization Schedule should also to be given Polio drops on the campaign days
• Children of Migrant labourers are also given polio drops on the campaign days.

As I told earlier, It is just a matter of about 15-20 minutes, and since the camp venues has been large in numbers, there won't be much crowd. So don't hesitate to take your kid to the nearest booth. 

Also requesting the readers who belongs to any FLAT ASSOCIATION to take a printout of this post or some other related post / newspaper article and paste it in the notice board. 

Do share this with your kits and kins. Join hands in making the healthy tomorrow. 

In a Nut-Shell : 

Date of Immunisation Camp
19th Jan’14 (Sunday) - 7 am to 5 pm

Age Group to be covered 
0-5 Years

Camps being held at
Nearest Corporation schools / Govt Hospitals / other Public Health Centers / Bus Stands / Airport / Railway Stations etc

Phase 2
23rd Feb’14 (Sunday)

With Cheers,
Deepak Raghuraman

Ration Card On-line Renewal - Procedures and Due Date

Ration Card On-line Renewal 

Procedures and Due Date

The households with the "Yellow" and "White" ration cards ("N" Ration Cards) should renew their cards as their existing validity has ended on 31st December 2013. The Ration cards issued by the TamilNadu Civil Supplies department will be of many types, but majority of them belongs to the below four categories: 

1. Green Card : All Commodities Card, which are issued to those who opts for all the commodities from the ration card. ie. Rice + other essential commodities.

2. White Card : Sugar Cards, are issued to those who opts for sugar instead of Rice as in Green Card. Ie. Sugar + Other essential commodities (No Rice).

3. White Card : No Commodity Cards, are issued to those who don't want any commodities from the Public Distribution System (PDS).

4. Yellow Card : Tatkal Card issued only for the address proof. 

For category 1 & 2, the renewal has been done at the same ration shop where they are procuring the commodities. An additional sheet has been annexed at the end of the ration card. 

There has been a problem for the cards pertaining to category 3 & 4, who are just using the card for the address proof. Since they are not purchasing any commodities from the ration shop, it is obvious that they are under no obligation to come to the ration shop. And many of them were unaware about the validity of their cards. It came into light only when the other officials / authorities rejects these cards as invalid when it has been submitted as address proof. 

Now it is the time for these 2 categories - White (No Commodities Card) & Yellow (Tatkal Cards) cardholders to renew their cards so as to use it as a valid address proof. It just a few minutes work, we can renew the cards online . The procedure is explained below: 

How to renew Online: 

1. Click here to go to the Online Renewal portal.

2. A window like this will open

3. Enter the card number and fill the necessary details.

4. Once we submit the form and our form got registered, Validity extension slip with letter "N" will be generated.

5. Take a print of this extension slip, sign it and paste it in the ration card. 

Last date for renewal : 

The cards should be renewed on or before 31st January 2014. 

Note : This on-line renewal is only for the category 3 & 4 mentioned above (White Card - No Commodities and Yellow Card - Tatkal Card) and not for the categories 1 & 2 (Commodities card). 

References: www.consumer.tn.gov.in

Since the due date is getting nearer, requesting all the White & Yellow Card Holders to renew their cards at the earliest. Share this with your friends so that they can also be aware.

Meet you all in my next post.

With Cheers,

Deepak Raghuraman