Motorists moving from one end of Avinashi Road subway to the other had a harrowing experience on Wednesday afternoon as sewage from a damaged underground drainage pipeline inundated the place.
According to sources in the Coimbatore Corporation, workers executing the storm water drainage project damaged the underground drainage pipeline at the entrance of the place where Murugan Theatre once stood. This happened around noon.
The damage resulted in sewage from North Coimbatore, Ram Nagar and Kattoor flowing into the subway and also inundating the places where the work was going on.
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Sources said that the pits the workers had dug for pouring concrete in the storm water drain project were also filled.
Motorists passing through the subway had to wade through the sewage.
On the southern side of the subway – those moving from Avinashi Road to Sukwarpet – had to also bear the brunt of sewage falling down from the road into the subway floor.
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Ward 72 Councillor J. Sasirekha said that she informed the Corporation officials who started pumping out the water, as was done during rains. But this did not last long.
Around 5 p.m., the motor ran into problems and stopped pumping out the water to the pipeline that takes the water to Valangulam.
After a couple of hours’ struggle, the Corporation managed to start the motor again and the work got completed around 8.30 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Corporation engineers also began containing the flow of sewage from the underground drainage pipeline and repairing the damaged one.