Meet P Chandrasekaran, Techie Who Used His Marriage Savings To Build A Road In His Village

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In today's society, where people love splurging their entire savings on weddings, a Tamilian techie has proved to the world that some dreams for the welfare of the poor are more essential than spending huge amounts on an extravagant wedding.

Image Credit: Newsindianexpress

P Chandrasekaran, 31, a techie, used the money he had saved for his wedding to fulfil a long-standing need for the community by laying a concrete road in his village, Vanur situated in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. No matter the outcome, Chandrasekaran is content with his choice.

Chandrasekaran, a senior technical lead at HCL Technologies Limited in Chennai, was planning to get married on September 1. He had been saving for his big day for two years. But after seeing the plight of the villagers in Nallavur due to the road's pathetic state, he chose to put the money toward constructing a concrete road there instead.

The concrete pavement had been put down some twenty-five years before. Residents were left wondering if the road would ever be re-carpeted after it was entirely destroyed. They had been having a difficult time as commuting was nearly impossible.

Chandrasekaran claims that the authorities have repeatedly ignored his requests to fund the road's reconstruction. It was then that he decided to use the money he had set aside for his wedding to pave the road.

In January, Chandrasekaran asked the authorisation to lay the road from the Block Development Office in Vanur as part of the Namakku Naamescheme to improve public services in residential areas.

The techie said that at first, he was told that he would be responsible for half of the project budget and it would be billed when the construction work ends. However, when Goods and Services Tax (GST) and other "bureaucratic barriers" were deducted, the remaining revenue was not enough for road maintenance. Therefore, at last, he had to pay the entire amount as he was not a registered contractor with the government.

He added that his parents, S. Perumal and P. Lakshmi, were concerned about their son's plan to lay the road as they did not want to face the anger of local politicians. Anyway, Chandrasekaran managed to persuade them and went to the district administration to request permission to begin the job.

Chandrasekaran's acquaintance in the Villupuram District Collectorate assisted him in securing the necessary paperwork to begin work on the project with the full support of the Namakku Naame programme. Starting in March, it took a month to lay the 290-meter concrete road.