Poor sewerage troubles residents of Ward 96

Even supply of potable, non-potable water inadequate, they say

Gandhiji Road residents want Uzhavar Sandhai to be turned into a park and not a yard for storing waste.

Poor flow of sewage and irregular supply of potable and non-potable water are the two complaints that one hears in Ward 96.

The Ward comprises areas that were once spread over three wards of the then Kurichi Municipality - wards 4, 12 and 13 and extends from the government school-Gandhiji Road in the north to Sundarapuram Junction-Saradha Mill Road in the south and from Pollachi Main Road in the west to Saradha Mill Road in the east.

It is home to over 10,000 people.

Residents say that the Coimbatore Corporation supplies water only once 25 days to some areas in the Ward and once in 30 days to others. It supplies the water from the Saradha Mill Road tank, but that is thoroughly inadequate as it lasts only an hour or one-and-a-half hour at the maximum.

The Corporation has put into disuse the water tank on Mudaliar Street. If it were to use the tank for water distribution, it would help residents in the area, nearby Andal Street, Krishna Nagar, Anna Teachers’ Colony and neighbouring places, suggests resident V. Narayanan.

The supply of non-potable water too is bad, rues resident Sabari Balu. In a few pockets in the Ward, the Corporation supplies well water only once in 10 days; in others it is worse. With inadequate supply of both drinking and non-potable water, the residents move around in bicycles and motorcycles to fetch water, he adds.

In almost all areas in the Ward, sewage stagnates - in drains if there is one or along the road. On Saradha Mill Road, the Corporation has not completed the drain work. The result is that sewage stagnates on the road. The sewage also stagnates at the Mudaliar Street Junction because of the difference in level with the connecting drain.

Shopkeeper P. Rangasamy says that during rain, sewage flows on to the road to flood the area. The residents cannot step on to the road. This problem has been there for several years and the civic body has done little to remedy the situation.

The Ward has no UGD coverage as the Corporation is yet to undertake the project for added areas. The residents say that streetlight coverage is good.

The residents’ other demand is for putting to use the defunct farmers’ market in the area. The Corporation has been using it to store bins and push carts and the residents are throwing garbage inside. The civic body should take over the place to build a park as the Ward does not have one, says R. Mahalingam, a resident of Thayyammal Layout.