Residents of ward 30 are plagued by two common problems — water scarcity and inadequate drainage facility. Gomathipuram, which is situated on the banks of the sprawling Vandiyur tank, has been bearing the brunt of severe drinking water scarcity owing to the dry tank and depleting groundwater reserves.
Members of the Gomathipuram-Thendral Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, an active body in the ward, said that of the two overhead tanks, only one was currently filled up. “The tank, which has a capacity of 60,000 litres, supplies water to about 50 per cent of the areas in the ward. The rest are forced to depend on private water suppliers,” said S. Baburaj, secretary of the association.
“There is a proposal to supply Cauvery water through a pipeline from Melur. If this happens, we have a sump which shall be filled and, in turn, can fill both the overhead tanks which will supply water to the whole ward,” he said.
Mr. Baburaj further said that they had recently appealed to the corporation to stop giving new water connections as none of the houses received corporation water.
S. Chitra, a resident of Parijatham Street, said that with the groundwater level in the area precariously low, they were purchasing water from private suppliers and spending anywhere between Rs. 200 to Rs. 4,000 a month.
“If the common taps and hand pumps in the street are made functional, it will greatly benefit us as we need not buy water from outside,” she said.
Drainage woesDespite the neat roads laid with paver blocks, a major issue plaguing the residents is constant overflow of sewage, which floods the roads. N. Ramasubbu, president of the association, said that many streets faced this problem after an outlet to the sewage in a channel nearby was blocked by residents of a neighbouring area who claimed it was an irrigation channel.
“Through an RTI petition, we were able to prove that the channel was not meant for irrigation purpose but the outlet still remains blocked. When we approached the corporation, we were asked to build individual septic tanks for our houses which we opposed,” he said.
Residents in Roja Street said that the overflow of sewage was an everyday occurrence, which had led to mosquito menace. Residents could not venture out during rains.
Mr. Ramasubbu said that they had appealed to the corporation to work out a permanent solution to the issue. “Either the sewage must be collected in a common sump or septic tank and taken elsewhere for treatment or a sewage treatment plant for our ward should be built,” he explained.
Security concernsAn incident earlier this month in which a six-member gang went on an attacking spree wielding knives and injuring a person while damaging shops and vehicles has given rise to concern regarding security in the thickly-populated residential area. There are plans to install CCTV cameras by the association in vantage points.
“While the maintenance of street lights in the area used to be systematically carried out in the past, there is a lack of coordination after the ward came under the corporation. If the officials contact the residents’ association for details regarding repair works, we will oblige and make the process smoother,” said Mr. Ramasubbu.
