Roadside drains in Jeppu Majila and Jeppu Seminary residential areas in the city are overflowing. A visitor may think all this is because of rainwater. In reality, it is a mixture of sewage and rainwater.
Residents attribute this to old sewage network which is unable to bear the increased load of sewage generated after many new houses came up.
Anil, a resident, says the existing sewage network is more than 30 years old. It has developed cracks and spring water entered the network in rainy season. This increased the flow of sewage during rainy season. Pressure on the network leads to sewage coming out through manholes. It has been a recurring problem, he says.
Mr. Anil says the entire sewage network in the areas should be replaced with new ones to have a permanent solution to the problem.
Sharat says the area had around 10 apartments earlier but new ones had come up.
In fact, the sewage flows back into the toilets of some houses, says a woman. She says successive Mayors, along with a team of officials, visit these areas every year. The problem has been highlighted in the media several times. Reshma, a resident, says manholes overflow during four months in rainy season. A junior engineer in the city corporation says there were paddy fields in Jeppu Majila earlier. Houses were built on these lands. Sewage is being pumped from flooded areas everyday, he says. There is no problem with the sewer network once it stops raining.
Mayor Praveen told The Hindu that he would visit the areas shortly.
Chairman of the Standing Committee for Town Planning and Improvement in the city corporation council Premananda Shetty pleaded ignorance about the problem. He says he will send an engineer to the areas.
