Residents of localities in Venkitapuram woke up to a Saturday morning where sewage stagnated in front of their houses. Pedestrians, two-wheeler users and even four-wheeler riders found it difficult to get out of houses, onto the roads, thanks to the drain that overflowed.
Around 8.30 a.m., sewage from the drain that carries water from residential localities north of Venkitapuram started overflowing on to Thadagam Road at the Venkitapuram Junction. From there the sewage, which also carried faeces, flowed westwards into the residential localities, given the terrain’s western inclination, says K. Purushothaman, a resident of the area.
The sewage from Wards 12, 13 and 14 flowed into R.K. Naidu Layout, Subramaniapuram and also to the Corporation Elementary School there. The students had to wade through ankle-deep sewage to reach the school.
He says that the sewage overflow happened because the contractors executing the underground drainage work dumped the excavated earth in the drain either late on Friday night or in the small hours of Saturday. The dumped earth blocked the flow of water from Venkitapuram.
The sewage also carried human waste because many of the houses that let waste water into the sewage do not have proper toilet facilities.
Mr. Purushothaman also says that this was not the first time that such an incident has happened since the Corporation undertook the underground drainage construction on Thadagam Road. The contractors to facilitate bus movement on the road, dump the excavated earth into the drain.
Ward 13 Councillor D. Umadevi says that as soon as the incident happened, the Corporation officials asked the contractor to use earth movers to remove the earth to facilitate the flow of sewage. And the contractor removed the block by around 10.30 a.m. There was the danger of the problem repeating itself unless the Corporation initiates measures to divert the bus to the Government College of Technology through NSR Road and Bharathi Park Road, suggests Mr. Purushothaman. Corporation officials say that they will consider the proposal.
