The broken stormwater drains on Velachery Main Road between UCO Bank and Christ King School has turned a death trap for residents and traders. While garbage is dumped into the drains, sewage overflow makes it a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. Rain adds a deadly dimension to the problem.
Traders at a shopping complex are the most affected. One of them said there a storm water drain made of concrete was outside the shopping complex, and was later replaced by pipelines.
The traders objected to the replacement, but officials paid no heed to it. The work was completed but in a haphazard way. The stormwater drain meant for channelling rainwater had sewage running through it. When residents complained to the elected representatives, the pipes were broken to clear it of sewage-mixed rain water.
Left open now, the drain has turned into a garbage dumping pit and sewage water still collects in large quantity. There are three schools and a hospital in the vicinity. The work on relaying the drain has been going on for close to eight months now.
All the houses in within 500 metres of the drain get flooded even after a brief spell of rain. Most residents are tired of making repeated representations to the civic authorities. A few still hope the Tambaram Municipality and Highways Authorities will address their problems.
Wasting drinking water
Residents also say they have drawn the attention of the Municipality to wastage of drinking water near the Air Force Road intersection on Velachery Main Road. Thousands of litres of water drain out on to the road, .
“We are going to write to the Municipality giving a list of steps they must take before every monsoon,” says K. Shankar, another resident.
They have also planned to intensify their agitation for better rain management.
