Despite being located in the heart of the city amidst posh residential localities off the Salai road, poor roads and drains remain the bane of Woraiyur Housing Unit, Cholarajapuram, and Kalathumedu.
Residents had a tortuous time following the recent spell of rain as slushy roads and overflowing drains made it extremely difficult for them to even come out of their houses.
The ongoing construction of a culvert across a drain on the road leading to Cholarajapuram made matters worse as the drains overflowed, and mixed with rainwater. Even days after the rain stopped, water and sewage could be seen stagnant around the housing unit.
Pigs could be seen wallowing in a pool of sewage around one of the houses apparently in disuse in the area.
“We face a torrid time during rainy season as sewage mixed with rainwater enters houses in low-lying areas. We have been crying hoarse over our problems, but so far no action has been taken,” said Palanimmal, a resident.
Many students of a private school and a college in the locality also have a tough time negotiating the road. Autorickshaw drivers have to take a roundabout to reach the school in view of the repair work on the drain.
“The condition of the roads was so bad in the recent rain that some families even refrained from venturing out unless it was very essential. Even now the roads are full of potholes and bumps which make for a backbreaking ride,” said a resident in one of the apartments in the locality.
Corporation officials said that the work on repair of the drain was nearing completion. Once it was completed, overflowing of sewage would stop. Roads in the area would also be repaired after the work was over.
Some senior citizens in the locality attributed the problem to the shrinking size of a major drain that runs across the area.
The drain that cuts from Thillai Nagar and across the Salai road was once about 20 feet wide, especially near the erstwhile Jayanthi Hotel bus halt.
However, the size of the drain has shrunk to just about five feet at the stretch now. Even though the corporation had built concrete retaining walls along the drain, it was hardly able to draw the rainwater flow, they said.
