Shuttle Court In Mylapore

Know your MLA WHO WHAT

IS OUR MLA?

How

ACCESSIBLE IS HE?

Know your MLA

HAS HE DONE?

»

Sudhir Srinivasan areas like Santhome,

Mylapore

and Velachery.

Adyar, under Zonethe 10, city alongwhose with There our are area, manycomes MLAs around faces are not easily recognisable. Our MLA isn't one such. As most of us are probably aware of, our MLA is S Ve Shekher. Yes, the popular comedian, theatre artiste, producer and director, has been the MLA for over two years now. The man's histrionics propelled him to fame in the 1970s and since then, he has, more or less, been a household name. How accessible is he, though? "Very," he says. "I get calls from residents all the time. Normally, with all the councillors around, the MLA doesn't have a great scope to perform. But I have been doing my best." He elaborates on one particular instance when a poor family had to shell out RS1,500 for a cremation, and how he stepped in to ensure that it was done free-of-cost for them. He adds, ironically, "Not too many people know that the government has declared that cremations are free of cost."

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"Most people are usually under emotional trauma and so, don't mind shelling money at crematoriums and this quality is presently taken advantage of." The MLA can be held responsible for many civic issues including road, street-light and drainage problems. What is politics to him? "Politics is a platform to engage in social service," he says, nobly. "If anybody looks to make money, it'll show easily." His rise to political fame is interesting. He partook in the 1990local elections as an independent candidate and managed to outscore the popular MLA of the area, at that time. "I only spent RS8,OOO on the elections," he beams. "My popularity went a long way in ensuring that people voted for me." Two years ago, AlADMK's head, Dr J Jayalalithaa roped him into the party and it has been that way since. This Mandaiveli resident talks about how he cannot stand violations on the road and how while he's travelling, he stops and attempts to rectify such violations. Some violations he talks about are encroachments, using the road as a parking spot, deposition of sand and bricks on the road near a construction site, etc. "We should all behave conscientiously," he says. "On an average, one policeman has to manage about 4,000 people. It's just not practically viable. People should stop violating for their convenience." MLAs are allotted about Rs1.5 crores for area maintenance. What has he done with it? "I used Rs80 lakhs to build a gas cremation site near the IG office. I also spent about Rs60 lakhs to build the Pattinambakkam bus terminus. The indoor shuttle court in Mandaiveli was built by me too." He considers having readied the Kapaaleeswarar temple for seasonal celebrations and having managed to grant the status of a government worker to undertakers as his greatest achievements. So, residents of zone 10. should you notice violations of any kind or be bothered by any civic problems,feelfree to call your MLA S Ve Shekher on 9841023545.His e-mail address is [email protected]. Let us do our best to live in more sanitary areas. Alternatively, e-mail us at thetimeso/[email protected]

•••

CHAT/S.VE.SHEKHER,M~\_~Y_L_AP_OR_E_T_IM_ES _

R Itht e asevere Ions dIpScanno b ecause be Just Some people in my party d on't I-k I e me or w hat d0

I

You see him everywhere. At ' .. blood donation camps and rallies for community causes. On stage, acting in his plays and off it, felicitating his colleagues in the Thamizh theatre world. That is S. Ve. Shekher. He is also represents Mylapore in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Elected on the AIADMK ticket, Shekheras legislator has had to work with limitations which come with being a member of a party in Opposition. Now, he finds himself sidelined even by the AIADMK. So where does he stand? Last week, Shekher who was not invited to a key meeting of the AIADMK party, spoke to Mylapore Times rather candidly. Excerpts from the interview:

_

J,

You won a tough contest.

But

October 18· 24, 2008

officials, engineers and

you kept as saying that ofyou do much an MLA the couldn't[ What stops you? . • Opposition. I face lots of handicaps. The

others along in office work withdous.notAn MLA has in ano Corporation area value, the

I

are more Important. Corporati~n councillors

.

They moreg~t so the if they attention belong.. to the party which heads You seem to have been the civic body.. but I haven't given up. I keep completely sidelined by your party now? writing letters, sending e-mails and talking For sometime the party has not about issues of my been communicating to me about its constituency ... key meetings. I don't know the reason for this. N ow, you have also been sidelined by So is it time to quit? your own party. How I will not leave the party. It has to did this happen? take that decision. For over a year, I did not get invitations to key meetings. Why did you really join the They told me to keep low from public AIADMK when you were a strong meetings ... these suggestions did not BJP sympathiser in the first place? come from Jayalalitha but from other I joined the AIADMK in 2004 after senior people. Then, at a function it lost an election. I did it because I Dayanidhi Maran and I were with I

liked some of the ideas that Jayalalith~

many others on stage .. so they began

proposed .. I had been ~eetingI am her qUitj alongside talking about how I chose sit often on dIfferent occaslQns. DMK people .. I to invited felt a pohtIcal platform involved .i~ many social would issues help and to I pursue these causes. And you got the ticket to content from Mylapore in the Assembly elections. How did that happen? . I had never asked for the seat. I didn't talk about it. I didn't apply for it while others had applied and paid a fee. I got to know of my candidature r

from a TV news bulletin.

she did not come. And when the I but Jayalalitha to my daughter's wedding chief minister came for the wedding of my sister's daughter, the gossip went that I was getting close to the DMK. This is how people generate a buzz against you. So do you have bitter feelings about joining the AIADMK? I regret joining the AIADMK. Before I joined it, my family and I had great relations with Jayalalitha. After joining the party, they are strained. I would prefer to carryon the warm relations we have had with many people including J ayalalitha.

Does that mean it is time to qt!it? I have been elected by the people of the Mylapore constituency so I must represent them for the tenure. For me, my relationships with people are important. we have built them over many many years. People in cinema and theatre, business and photography; social movements and campaif,'Tls.. .these cannot be severed just because some people in my party don't like me or what I do. You once said even your local partymen keep away from you ... I am not of much use to them. I don't seek commissions on civic projects, I don',t look for 'cuts' and I p~blicly raise issues like encroachments and illegal connections and don't invite deals. So I am not the 'right' person for these people in the party.

@IDi'jJD~~~

If GOD BE WITH US WHO CAH BE AGAIHST US

1 fJ .• ....,.

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