Residents of Chitlappakkam had many complaints to make, at a recent grievance meeting. While interacting with the Tambaram MLA S.R. Raja, they said they were unhappy over continuous drawing of water from Sembakkam lake by tankers and an increasing number of encroachments.
Construction of a well
It must be noted that the Pallavapuram Municipality has constructed a well in the lake and draws water from it to deal with water scarcity faced by the residents of Chromepet, Hasthinapuram, Keelkattalai and Pallavaram. M. Ravi, secretary, Sri Sarvamangala Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, said, “Action must be initiated at the earliest to prevent the Municipality from discharging sewage into the waterbody, despite the presence of an underground drainage facility.”
P. Viswanathan, convener, Chitlapakkam Residents’ Association Coordination Committee, said, “The Chitlapakkam and Sembakkam waterbodies have become contaminated due to discharge of sewage.
The Water Resources Department should conduct water sampling twice a year. Steps must also be taken to stop dumping of garbage in Chitlapakkam lake.”
Small buses
Residents requested the MLA to take steps to ensure that small buses S3 (Chromepet – Madambakkam) and S8 (Tambaram Railway Station – Hasthinapuram) plied through Tambaram Sanatorium railway station. At present, the buses ply on Tambaram Sanatorium flyover, beneath which the railway terminal is located.
As a result, residents rely on shareautorickshaws to reach the station. They said that it would be highly beneficial if steps were taken to operate the small buses through the flyover. Requests mere also made for the creation of a parking lot beneath the Tambaram Sanatorium flyover. Residents complained that walking on the western side of Chitlapakkam Second Main Road, towards Chitlapakkam, was not easy as vehicles were parked on the pavements and on the road space, abutting the pavements.
Therefore, people were forced to walk on the carriageway. Raja said that the grievance meet would be conducted at periodic intervals, followed by a review meeting. Regarding removal of encroachments, he promised action at the earliest.
