With the onset of the northeast monsoon, administration’s preparedness to deal with rain-related civic woes will be put to the test in the days to come.
The biggest worry for residents is the condition of dug-up roads and untrimmed trees. In several residential areas, roads, dug to lay pipelines and cables, remain in poor shape even weeks after the completion of the intended work.
According to R. Raji Babu, a resident of Mariamman Koil Street in Pavanan Nagar, roads were dug to lay pipes for drinking water to provide water from the new overhead tank at the Indira Gandhi Statue. Though the work was completed, the road was not restored.
“The last few days of rain has worsened the situation. The entire road has become muddy. Two-wheeler riders and school going children have been affected the most,” he said.
Prabhu Babu, a resident of Boomianpet, said authorities should have anticipated the showers and carried out maintenance ahead of time. The PWD was apprised of the difficulties last month but failed to act on time, he added.
Tree troubles
Another cause for concern were the dangerously positioned trees, especially in the Boulevard area. Recently, two huge trees were uprooted at Francois Martin Street near the junction of Dupuy Street and at Rue Desbassyns de Richemont near Gingee Salai.
This happened because they were not pruned, said Probir Banerjee of PondyCan. During previous monsoons, several trees were uprooted causing damage to property, he said. “The authorities should have pruned the huge trees at least a few weeks before the monsoon,” said Mr. Banerjee.
An untrimmed tree with low-hanging branches in the boulevard area of Puducherry.
“These are places which are highly populated and can cause human loss in case of falling. In White Town, the base of most trees are embedded in concrete. So they do not get adequate anchorage. Thus, its is a necessity to prune such trees regularly,” said Durga Hariharan, a resident of Krishna Nagar.
Residents are worried about the lack of cleaning operations in main stormwater drains and small channels.
“We have seen newspaper reports about cleaning of stormwater drains but on the ground, the main channels that take rainwater to the sea remain clogged,” said Ravi Prakash, a resident of Muthialpet.
The inefficiency of drains to flush out floodwater caused inundation in low-lying areas in the past, he said. “It is always better to clear the drains of accumulated silt frequently than making it an annual exercise before monsoon,” he said.
‘Work under way’
District Collector T. Arun told The Hindu that work to clean the canals has started. The district administration has ordered the removal of banners. The Collector said the Forest Department already pruned trees in several areas, including White Town.
The Electricity Department too has begun work in Pillaichavady, Karuvadikuppam, Lawspet and Moolakulam, Mr. Arun added.
