Thuvariman, a western suburb of the city, presents a green sight with large trees lining the road on each side and the Vaigai meandering beside lush green coconut groves to enter the city. However, the residents of Thuvariman are battling a range of civic issues – poor drainage system, unpaved roads, improper waste disposal system and lower water storage at Thuvariman tank. Understanding these issues, the contestants for the upcoming local body elections have intensified their campaigning, promising the residents that their grievances will be redressed.
Thuvariman panchayat has nine wards and has around 4,000 voters. The panchayat has three villages - Thuvariman, Indira Colony and Pudukudi. The post of panchayat president is reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates.
The main problem which haunts the residents of Thuvariman is the lack of a proper drainage system. While a few houses have septic tanks to dispose of their waste, most of the houses let the sewage out in the open.
In Indira Colony, where Scheduled Caste people live, open drains have not been de-clogged in the last one year, says C. Thuraipandi, a resident. “The sewage has been stagnating and has led to proliferation of mosquitoes. When it rains, the sewage flows onto the concrete roads of the streets and takes several days to evaporate. Due to poor hygienic conditions, children often fall sick,” he says.
The problem of a poor drainage system is more acute in Melatheru, Indira Colony and Pudukudi, says Kandasamy, a candidate contesting for the post of panchayat president.
Other than the drainage issue, supply of drinking water is another area that the contestants are focussing on. Currently, water is pumped through borewells and is chlorinated at overhead tanks to supply drinking water to the residents. As an additional source, water is supplied through Cauvery Integrated Drinking Water Scheme during water shortage.
However, the drinking water supplied to the residents is unfit for consumption, complains V. Sumathi, a resident. “It is not ideal to use this water for cooking. The pipelines carrying Vaigai water to the core city pass through Thuvariman and we fetch water from leakage in pipelines to meet our needs,” she says.
Out of the six overhead tanks, one is old and needs replacement, says T. Kannan, a candidate for the post of panchayat president. A proposal for a new overhead tank at Thuvariman was submitted to the district administration long back, but no action has been taken yet, he says. There is also a requirement for a tank at Pudukudi, he adds.
Waste collection
The other main problem in Thuvariman is the absence of a proper waste disposal system. “Garbage is dumped near the bank of the river by conservancy workers and burned in the evening,” complains Ms. Sumathi.
An official from Thuvariman panchayat says the problem arises due to the lack of a dedicated dump in Thuvariman. “In the absence of a dump, we are not able to segregate waste and comply with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. We are planning to submit a separate proposal to have a separate dump so that waste from eight panchayats, including Achampattu, Nagamalai Pudukottai, Melamathur and Thuvariman, can be processed at a single place,” says the official.
Renovation of tank
Other than these civic issues, the contestants of the local body elections have focused mainly on renovating Thuvariman tank. The water from this tank, which has an ayacut area of 360 acres, is used to irrigate paddy fields, coconut and banana farms.
President of Thuvariman Farmers’ Welfare Association N. Murugesan says it has been more than 15 years since the tank had surplussed. “Indiscriminate sand mining near the Vaigai has lowered the riverbed level below the level of supply channel. This has subsequently disrupted the flow of water to the tank,” he says.
Metalled roads have to be laid along the bund of the tank, says P. Rajendran, a farmer and another contestant for the post of panchayat president. “There is also a separate proposal to build a bed dam at Kodimangalam, which will ensure sufficient supply of water to the tank throughout the year,” he says.
