“Even after a slight rain, water comes gushing from all sides here and soon our belongings are found floating in water. It happens so often that we have become used to it now. We have asked the government to set right the sewerage system here. But then, they have never asked us what we want,” says Krishnan, a resident of Chengalchoola colony (now Rajaji Nagar).
Even as the government is well on its way to redevelop the colony by constructing flats for 1,000 families and build a shopping complex, the residents here are crying out for a solution to the sewerage issue. Its location below the city’s main sewerage and below the surrounding roads has added to the problem.
Following protests by the residents in 2013, the sewerage maintenance division of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) had come up with a proposal for renovation of the existing sewerage facilities in the colony. But according to KWA officials, no one came forward to take up the project even though the tenders were floated four times.
Estimate
“We are in the process of revising the estimate for the project. Ever since it was announced, tenders were floated four times and no one responded to it. In the nearby Pound kadavu colony, there were some issues during sewerage work. Hence, contractors are wary of taking up work here too. But, something has to be done here immediately as the situation is pretty bad during the monsoon,” says the official.
The proposed project, with an estimated cost of Rs.98.5 lakh, aims at a total revamp of the existing system. The existing sewer line does not cater to the needs of the colony due to insufficient capacity. A few years back, a new line of 250 metres was laid by the City Corporation as part of a Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Programme (KSUDP). But the KWA’s old line could not connect to this new line owing to difference in levels. Now, the main sewer line in the colony is connected to the canal, which passes through the colony, causing pollution in the open canal too. Clearing of blockages in these lines is also an issue as parts of it pass under the houses. The new sewer system will be set up by dividing the colony into two zones.
In the north zone, the proposal is for a new sewer line and to construct waste water open drain. The size of the sewer will be enhanced along with the construction of new manholes and a separate side drain.
