Though residents of ward 49 faced a crippling water shortage a few months ago, the brimming waters of the Naganakulam tank has brought them renewed hope.
“The ground water level has considerably improved after water was brought to the tank by clearing the supply channels. Garbage is dumped there daily but we are taking efforts to keep the tank clean and ensure that it is effectively used as a storage structure,” Councillor P. Sasikumar says.
A pleasure boating facility was introduced on the sprawling irrigation tank in 2012 amidst much fanfare but it had to be withdrawn six months later. The service continues to remain suspended till now.
Residents, however, have their own set of woes. The tank bund, overgrown with bushes and shrubs, is used as an open-air toilet and is an ‘eyesore’ of the ward.
Reacting to their complaints, the councillor says that there is a long-pending appeal to the corporation to convert the area around the tank into a park. Once it is fenced and gated, anti-social elements will be kept at bay.
Struggling for basic facilitiesN. Parasuraman, president of Viswasanthi Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, says that despite the ward being annexed to the corporation in 2012, nothing has been done to improve infrastructural facilities.
“No effort has been taken to implement the underground drainage system. Many people looked at the area as a real estate hub and bought plots before going abroad, but now it is filled with garbage and overgrown shrubs,” he rues.
“There is nothing done to clear empty plots and many open spaces have turned into garbage dumps or are used to convey waste water,” Mr. Parasuraman adds.
P. Anbusamy, a resident of Bank colony, too says that areas such as Vasu Nagar have been facing perennial problems with a poor drainage system.
“However, the roads have improved in the last few years and, thanks to water in the Naganakulam tank, we have not faced water scarcity of late,” he adds.
Residents of Naganakulam, which was earlier Naganakulam town panchayat, state that the road to infrastructural development has been especially slow and arduous.
“The borewell sunk with local area development fund has not benefitted us in any way and no water is supplied from it. We have been isolated from the ward in terms of development and the roads remain battered,” says K.P. Ramanathan.
“Most of the contract workers of the corporation are on strike, battling their own issues, and sanitation and hygiene in the ward remain neglected. Garbage lies heaped at several places and no efforts have been taken to repair the roads dug up for laying cables,” he adds.
Mr. Sasikumar admits that the area requires proper water supply and drainage system.
“Work with regard to Naganakulam is progressing slowly. Water still remains a major issue and I have appealed to the corporation to lay a direct supply line,” Mr. Sasikumar adds.
The Naganakulam and Sri Nagar cremation grounds are used even by residents of surrounding wards. The councillor says that proposals to clean up their compounds and make the premises greener are yet to be implemented.
