In Mogappair and adjoining localities, discharge of sewage and contaminated water into stormwater drains (SWD) by encroachers has led to scourges of mosquitoes across the region.
The 1.5-km-long stormwater channel serves many residential areas, including Ambattur Old Town (OT), Ambattur Industrial Estate, Mannurpet, Srinivasan Nagar, Officers’ Colony, Akshya Colony, Murthy Nagar, Padi and Mogappair.
The channel, which is closed with concrete slabs to prevent dumping of food and other kitchen waste by residents, links North Buckingham canal to Ambattur OT on Chennai–Tiruvallur High (CTH) Road with Padi Kuppam in Mogappair.
In fact, the channel plays a crucial factor in preventing flood during monsoon as it discharges excess rainwater into the Bay of Bengal through the North Buckingham canal.
“Any blockage of the channel would lead to flooding in the neighbourhood. Stagnation of contaminated water also results in waterborne diseases and breeding of mosquitoes,” says S. Manikam, a resident of Mogappair.
Construction of new stormwater drains was started six years ago by the Ambattur Municipality before it was merged with the Greater Chennai Corporation.
Since then, the local body has not taken any concrete steps to clean the polluted stormwater drain and also ensure it is free of encroachments. Several portions of the channel, as its runs on its route, are marked by encroachments in the form of extensions of existing houses, makeshift petty shops and dumping of damaged vehicles.
The problem is strikingly noticeable at Srinivasan Nagar and Officers’ Colony.
Besides domestic waste, untreated industrial effluents from cluster units at Ambattur Industrial Estate is illegally discharged into the stormwater channel, posing a health hazard to the residents in the neighbourhood.
The contamination of the channel also figured in the discussion at the general body meeting of the Anna Nagar West (Phase–II) Residents Welfare Association, early this week.
“The stench from the drain is too strong. As a result, children find it almost impossible to play near the drain,” says V. Santha, a resident of Mogappair.
According to residents, the civic body should take steps to clean the drain before the onset of the northeast monsoon. They also want Corporation officials to remove all encroachments on the concrete drain before taking up any massive clean-up operations.
This would not only prevent flooding of the neighbourhood but also help discharge more rainwater into the sea.
“Efforts would be taken to prevent discharge of sewage into the stormwater drain,” says a Corporation official.
