Residents of Sixth Avenue and its adjoining areas in Anna Nagar want the Chennai Metrowater to have the existing underground drainage (UGD) pipelines replaced soon.
They attribute the sewage overflow on busy stretches to these decades-old pipelines.
According to Metrowater officials, more than 80 complaints of sewage overflows from manholes have been reported in these areas since January this year.
Most of these pipes are said to have been laid in the 1970s, which mark the nascent years of Anna Nagar. Originally laid to discharge sewage from a few hundred houses in the neighbourhood, these pipelines now discharge drainage from thousands of houses
As a result, they are often chocked, causing sewage overflow through manholes on the streets. “This has been a recurring problem for many years now. A permanent solution should be devised to put an end to this problem,” says S. Ramesh, a resident of Anna Nagar.
According to officials, on an average, around 15,000 litres of sewage is drained through the pipelines from Anna Nagar ‘C’ Metrowater office limits every day, which covers areas including Sixth Avenue, 18 block, ‘Z’ Block, ‘G’ Block and Kuruniji Colony. The local ‘C’ Metro water office also covers a portion of the area that fall under division (Corporation ward) 99 and 100. The drained water is discharged to the pumping station located behind Sundaram Medical Foundation on Fourth Avenue Road in Shanthi Colony. The pumping station at Fourth Avenue is the common facility to receive sewage from Anna Nagar ‘C’ and ‘B’ Metrowater area, from where the drainage is pumped to the sewage treatment plant in Koyambedu.
“During the monsoon, the situation is worse as residents in the neighbourhood have to wade through knee-deep sewage,” said C. Kavitha, a resident of Anna Nagar.
With rising population and increase in the number of multi-storey apartment complexes in the neighbourhood, the carrying capacity of the pipelines of the UGD system has increased over the years. As a result, repeated complains of drainage overflow from manholes in the locality have been reported by residents. The problem is severe between Sixth Avenue Road and Saravana Bhavan Hotel in Second Avenue, Anna Nagar, a distance of around one kilometre.
Metrowater officials said that the replacement of the old pipelines between Sixth Avenue Road and Saravana Bhavan Hotel was necessary. Also, the replacement work is likely be carried out when the Metro Rail work is on, to minimise the inconvenience caused to residents.
