Incomplete drain work irks residents

FOR DAILY:COIMBATORE 06/12/2011. Incomplete storm water drainage work on NSR Road has troubled residents who are unable to move out their vehicles for close to three months now. Photo:M.Periasamy (Digital).

The stability of a lamp post at the NSR Road – Seventh Cross Road junction has had resident G. Sundararajan worried. Not just for a few weeks, but for nearly four months. “Ever since the contractor implementing the storm water drain work began digging earth for starting the work sometime in August this year, we, the residents, have had to put with sewer in front of our houses and ready-to-fall lamp post.”

While removing earth, the contractors also removed that portion of the earth that supported a pole that stood at the junction. As a result, the pole lost balance, has leaned towards the building there and electric wires are hanging at a precariously low level. The building close to the pole houses shops that see good movement of people during business hours.

Mr. Sundararajan says that if the pole were to lose balance, it will endanger lives of many people.

I. Thulasiraj, another building owner, says sewage stagnant in front of the shops for nearly three months has affected business. “Customers do not want to take the risk of walking on a make-shift ramp to reach the shops. They are happy shopping at other shops on the road,” he rues.

He also says that the stagnant pool poses health risk.

The residents say their enquiries with the contractor, the Coimbatore Corporation and the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation reveal that the delay has been due to lack of communication between the Corporation and the TANGEDCO regarding the safety of the pole.

Representatives of the contract agency say that had the TANGEDCO straightened the pole, they would have been able to complete the work then and there. They add that they had reported the work to the Corporation engineers concerned.

Sources in the civic body say they will look into the issue immediately and ensure that the residents are put to any more trouble because of the incomplete work.

Officials from TANGEDCO say that unless there is a written request accompanied by money to relocate the lamp post from the Corporation, they can do very little.