The storm water drain the Coimbatore Corporation has constructed a month ago along the Fourth Street in Viswanathapuram, near Thudiyalur, has come in for criticism from the residents.
They say that the drain has developed cracks and its walls are about to fall. The contractor, who executed the work, carried out some patch up work and has fixed wooden logs and pipes between the walls to prevent them from caving in, says K.K. Deepesh, a resident.
The area the resident refers is the northern end of the Viswanathapuram Fourth Street, where cement-filled polyvinylchloride (PVC) pipes and wooden logs support the drain walls now.
It is sad that the drain construction is bad. More so because the structure is hardly a month old, says K. Arumugam, another resident.
The Coimbatore Corporation, according to sources, took up the drain construction for about 250 m in the area, which was earlier part of the Thudiyalur Town Panchayat, at around Rs. 25 lakh. Being a residential area that hardly sees movement of heavy vehicles, the civic body went in for plain cement concrete construction – without iron roads.
The sources say that the Corporation goes in for reinforced cement concrete only on main roads, as it is doing at present along the Mettupalaym Road.
They also say that work on the drain in Viswanathapuram is not yet complete and that the contractor has placed the pipes as part of the curing process. They also say that the contractor has placed the PVC pipes and wooden logs because that stretch of the drain is on a loose soil with water running beneath.
Besides the issue with the drain, the Viswanathapuram residents say water supply cycle is also a cause for concern. Mr. Arumugam says that the Corporation supplies borewell water once in about 15 days and drinking water once in about 12 days.
With such a supply, the residents find it difficult to meet their daily water requirements.
Things were much better when the area was under the Thuidyalur Town Panchayat because the water supply was once in four days, recalls Mr. Deepesh. And, now, the residents are forced to buy water. They pay between Rs. 80 and Rs. 100 for a 1,000 litre tanker.
The two residents say that through the residents’ welfare association they have taken up the issue with the Councillor, N. Annapoorani.
The Councillor says that she is taking necessary steps to improve the water supply situation and also addressing other issues like bins to dump garbage.
