It’s been five years since the merger of residential localities under Alandur Municipality with the Chennai Corporation. While a number of residents acknowledge developmental works such as good roads, lighting and improved connectivity, old problems like sewage overflow, desilting of Veerangal Odai and the promise of a ration shop still remain only on paper, say members of the residents welfare associations.
In the past five years, some facilities have been added and upgraded in the ward covering the residential pockets of Nanganallur, Adambakkam and Vanuvampet. Better connectivity with new blacktopped roads and streetlights came to be after the merger with the Chennai Corporation.
Bhuvaneswari Nagar Residents Welfare Association president, V. Veeraraghavan, said: “Problems such as sewage reversal at Nilamangai Nagar sewage treatment plant still persists. Whenever it rains, the sewers are choked often reversing the flow back to toilets at Saraswathi Nagar, Nilamangai Nagar, Bhuvaneswari Nagar and Lakshmi Nagar," he says.
While the culverts and stormwater drains have been in place, the connectivity with main drain ‘Veerangal Odai’ was not carried out. The cleaning up of this channel is another issue the corporation and Public Works Department have failed to address, he laments.
While residents welcome the parks in Lakshmi Nagar First Street and Nethaji Street in Nilamangai Nagar, they note that several other parks in the area need vast improvement.
Another major issue plaguing the ward is the meager number of small bus services that connects this ward to St. Thomas Mount, Velachery and Alandur Metrorail.
R. Govindaraj, a resident of Balaji Nagar, said re-routing the rainwater through stormwater drains faces a road block as many of them use the drain as a sewage outlet, which was not being checked upon by the corporation officials.
Apart from sprucing up some parks, corporation officials said work was underway to connect the stormwater drains with Veerangal Odai’.