While a section of residents of the city have expressed their disappointment over the failure of the Tiruchi City Corporation (TCC) in bringing their areas under the Underground Drainage coverage, the Corporation officials are trying to woo those residents whose colonies have already been brought under the UGD coverage, to bring their households under the network.
The civic body has come out with an attractive scheme to lure the residents to get have their buildings connected with the UGD sewer system.
According to the statistics available with the Corporation, as many as 46 wards out of 65 wards have been covered with UGD sewer system. It is mainly functioning in erstwhile Tiruchi and Srirangam municipal limits.
As on date, there are 46,500 UGD connections in the city. The existing system has the potential to add 7,000 buildings. However, there is lukewarm response from the owners of a few areas to get UGD connections. These households discharge sewage, including waste from toilets, directly into open drains that ultimately pollute the local environment, irrigation channels and rivers in the city.
This is not the first time that the Corporation is organising special drive to bring more households under the UGD net. It had conducted several drives in the past by making it mandatory for all buildings to be connected with the UGD system. The Corporation Council passed a resolution about a few years ago to levy a penalty of Rs.3000 for those who failed to discharge sewer into the UGD line.
But, this time, the Corporation has come out with an offer for households, where the UGD system is functioning. Under normal circumstances, the owners of buildings have to pay Rs.6000 as caution deposit per UGD connection. Now, they can get the connection by paying Rs.500 per instalment for six years.
Justifying the move, N.S. Prema, Corporation Commissioner, told The Hindu that it had been found that a section of residents in a few areas including Alwarthoppu had been discharging domestic sewage directly into open drains, polluting the environment. The offer would lure them to get connected with UGD. It would not only improve the UGD usage to its maximum capacity but also prevent the residents from letting sewage into open drains and channels.
She added that the offer would be applicable in 51,52,54, 57,58, 59 and 60 wards in the city.
