More residents complain of sewage mixing with water

For over a week now, residents of Sixth Street, R.V.Nagar, Anna Nagar, have been putting up with stench, flies and sewage on the road. Sewage has been overflowing from manholes. Residents across the city face similar problems.

Residents of R.V. Nagar said some of the houses in the area had also experienced reverse flow of sewage from the underground sewerage network. “Though a complaint was registered with the Metro Water office, the problem is yet to be solved,” said a resident.

People living in Sowcarpet and Seven Wells also have similar woes. Residents of Varadamuthiappan Street and P.V. Street, George Town, said that sewage was overflowing onto the roads for the past few days. Sewage mixing with drinking water is also a recurring problem in Seenumudali Street, Parrys and Chengam Bazaar, Sowcarpet.

Sewage overflow is a problem that Janakiraman Garden, Ambedkar College Road, Vyasarpadi, has been experiencing for the past few months.

Radhakrishnan, a resident, said they have referred over 20 complaints to various government agencies.

Residents of Raja Street, T. Nagar, complained of stench in the piped-water supply and are using packaged drinking water for nearly two months now.

Despite complaints, the problem has not been rectified, residents said. S. Nagalakshmi, a resident of Raja Street said “We have stopped using metro water.”

According to her, sewage overflow is a recurring problem. During monsoon, water stagnates in the street and the sewage chamber is opened to let the water flow into the system as the storm water drains are blocked.

Officials of Chennai Metro Water said the water agency had stepped up the monitoring of water samples to control drinking water contamination. “Of the nearly 400 complaints that are received daily, those related to water contamination are less than 10,” said an official.

Nearly 50 per cent of the complaints pertain to sewer blocks. Old rusted pipelines also contribute to the problem, which the water agency is changing in a phased manner. “We have also increased the residual chlorine levels to ensure prescribed limits, even in tail-end streets,” the official added.