“The whole of the city’s mosquito population must be originating from here,” said a resident of Ward 69, pointing to the stagnant water and garbage in the half-finished storm water channel.
For a majority of residents who live around the storm water channel, mosquito menace gives sleepless nights. “Work on constructing this channel began about four years back but abruptly stopped. Every time it rains, water and garbage come flowing into the channel from the Arasaradi side and remain stagnant for days,” said K. Jayamani, an elderly resident.
The women residents complained that their children had become prone to health ailments. “Even when we cook and eat in the evenings, mosquitoes and other insects keep falling into our food if we try to open a window or the door. We live in fear of snakes as they are often spotted around the channel and also enter our homes,” said S. Kala.
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Councillor P. Vijayalakshmi from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) said that most infrastructural works had come to a near standstill in the ward. “We have been appealing time and again to the corporation to finish the Anuppanadi channel work, which was initiated under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), but to no avail. We are battling repeated complaints from residents regarding their fate,” she said.
The councillor further said that they had engaged corporation conservancy workers to clean the garbage from the channel once every few days following complaints from residents.
“From dengue to malaria, many children and adults alike have been affected by ailments. Most of us cannot afford to move out since we have been living here for the last 30 years or so,” said S. Sekar, another resident, who added that more than 300 families lived here. “The work on completing the storm water channel and connecting it to a proper outlet as well as covering it should be carried out at the earliest,” he said.
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Irregular water supply
K. Mani, a resident, said that water was being supplied once in four days and at irregular timings. “On the days it is supplied, it comes all through the day and night and we would prefer supply for a few hours every alternate day instead,” he said.
Ms. Vijayalakshmi said that no new bore wells had been sunk in the ward in the last few years. “There is a lack of coordination between local officials and corporation authorities and no infrastructural improvement has been carried out,” she said.
Residents of the thickly populated Indira Nagar complained about the bad roads in the area.
“We have been constantly submitting petitions accompanied by photos of the battered roads in the ward to the corporation authorities. Only recently, we were allocated Rs. 10 lakh under the MLA’s Local Area Development Fund. Roads will soon be laid on Anna West Street and MGR Street,” the councillor said.
Conservancy workers were engaged to clean the garbage from the channel once every few days following complaints