Reconstruction of sewage pit on Wall Tax Road moves at tardy pace

State Highways Department is working to identify clogged spots and take up repairs

The open pit along the Central station compound wall.

An almost unceasing flow of vehicles on Wall Tax Road, near Chennai Central railway station, has hit the work relating to reconstruction of a sewage pit.

The State Highways Department, which maintains Wall Tax Road, initiated the work along the compound wall of the railway station, but the project is moving at a tardy pace. The clogged pit is located between two entrances of the station, separated by a compound wall.

At the first entrance of the railway station, which is located at the intersection of the Poonamallee High (PH) Road and the Wall Tax Road, MTC buses exit. At the second entrance, cars and autorickshaws are allowed to enter the railway station. Long distance commuters also use the second entrance to reach the station every day. Further, vehicles coming from PH Road and Pallavan Salai take a left turn along the open drain to reach Wall Tax Road. The flow of vehicles and pedestrian movement are almost continuous, around the open drain.

Traffic regulation around Central railway station is carried out by the Flower Bazaar traffic police.

“As many commuters including children come to the railway station, the open pit is risky,” says 60-year-old S. Venugopal, a resident from Villivakkam. The are a few barricades around the open pit, but they are not adequate enough to entirely rule out the possibility of an accident.

Two months ago, when the closed drain started to overflow on to the road, Venugopal, an advocate with the Madras High Court, took it up with the authorities concerned. According to State Highways officials, the narrow underground sewage drain was built decades ago to cater to the needs of residents around Park Town. With the population having increased significantly, the drain is not able to take the overload, resulting in clogging.

People also dump waste in these open drain spots, and this contributes to the clogging of the entire channel.

“We are checking the drain along Wall Tax Road to locate clogged spots. Steps will also be taken to provide adequate safety measures around the open pit for walkers,” says a State Highways official.