The electricity poles have been removed from the newly-constructed storm-water drain in Lappaipettai village, near Arcot town, in Ranipet on Saturday.
This comes after a news report dated November 23 that appeared in The Hindu highlighted the issue. Residents said the poles would block the flow of excess rainwater in the drain and would inundate the neighbourhood during the monsoons.
“After the residents raised objections, we have removed the poles from the new drain. Poles have been erected outside the drain to prevent any disruption in the existing overhead powerline,” said a Tangedco official.
Lappaipettai is one of the villages that form a part of Mangadu village panchayat in Arcot panchayat union of Ranipet district, which has seven unions, including Arakkonam, Walajah, Ranipet and Sholinghur. The new storm-water drain work in the village is being undertaken by the Rural Development Wing of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) for nearly a fortnight.
Funded under the Tamil Nadu Rural Roads Improvement Scheme (TNRRIS) 2021-22, the total cost of the project for Mangadu village panchayat is ₹40.37 lakh. Of this, ₹3.63 lakh has been allotted for the drain work on Mosque Street in the village where Tangedco’s electric poles were erected inside the storm-water drain structure. The video had also gone viral on social media.
