Poor maintenance of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) colony at Khajamalai in the city has been a cause of concern for residents in the tenements. Built about two-and-a-half decades ago, the houses divided into four blocks, account for about 850 units.
Snake menace, overflow of sewage, non-clearance of sceptic tanks, and thick vegetation all around, have been some of the major problems faced by residents.
Some of the women residents complain that they have to shell out their own money to snake charmers for catching snakes.
The most serious problem confronted by residents is the stagnation of sewage water in the backyards of the colonies. Poor maintenance of sewage lines has been posing a huge health hazard, lament residents.
Each block has six houses, divided into two rows of three houses.
The common sceptic tank for each of the blocks is located on the backside of the buildings. Most of these tanks remain improperly closed. “The problem aggravates during monsoon when huge quantity of sand gets deposited in the sceptic tanks, causing the sewage to overflow out of the tank,” says a harried resident.
They have to employ some sanitary workers for clearing the slush and securing the concrete slabs.
The appalling condition of the sceptic tank results in clogging of mains and leads to reverse flow of sewage from the tanks to residential toilets.
The problem is more pronounced in toilets on houses in ground floors. “There are no takers for the houses located in the ground floor, because of this unhygienic condition,” says one of the women, pointing to a closed house nearby.
Residents say that proper maintenance by way of plastering the walls or repairing the doors would ensure the stability of the structure for a longer duration. “The Board needs to allot only a little expenditure towards maintenance,” they say.
