Bad roads, poor sanitation, and irregular water supply worry residents of Ward 81

Ward 81 that extends from Mill Road in the north to Big Bazaar Street in the south and from Oppanakara Street in the west to the railway line in the east houses the busiest thoroughfares of the city.

Big Bazaar Street, N.H. Road, Oppanakara Street and parts of V.H. Road and Raja Street see heavy vehicle and pedestrian movement during the day. Movement of public transport vehicles on Oppanakara Street, Raja Street and N.H. Road adds to the congestion.

Traffic management is the biggest problem, but the Coimbatore Corporation can do very little about it as a few roads like the N.H. Road are narrow, says the area’s former councillor M.A. Kuthbutheen. The only Corporation parking lot near the Clock Tower is also fully utilised. In residential areas like CMC Colony, Mania Thottam, Rathinam Streets and Thirumal Streets, poor sanitation and irregular water supply are the residents’ oft-repeated grievances. They say that from once in four days to once in a week to once in 15 days, there has been deterioration in water supply. The civic body supplies Siruvani water.

The second issue is road. Though many streets see heavy traffic, the quality of road is bad. The residents say that N.H. Road, Raja Street, Ismail Rowther Street and a few others are battered.

Mr. Kuthbutheen says the TANGEDCO recently laid underground cables and that added to the already existing damage. The Corporation had sanctioned funds and will soon take up the road construction work.

In CMC Colony, off the V.H. Road, the Corporation has hardly paid any attention to sanitation, says P. Vijayan, a resident. Waste collection is poor and so is removing silt from drains. This is in the area where conservancy workers live and that is worrying because the workers pan out to the city to keep other areas clean.

M.P. Ravi, a resident, says that the Corporation should improve the efficiency with which it removes waste, for overflowing bins trouble residents in Ismail Rowther Street and Thirumal Street.

The CMC Colony residents also want the Corporation to provide more street lights.