Tamil Nadu - Salem   

Vidya Nagar stinks

By S. Ramesh

The sewage channel on Ammapet main road in Salem. — Photo: P. Goutham

SALEM, APRIL 2. Any one who passes through Vidya Nagar on Ammapet Main Road in the city will feel repulsive. The stench in the air is from the garbage-filled open sewage channel, which has not been cleaned for months together.

The channel has blockages in several places obstructing the drainage flow. "It is hard to live in the area. We have appealed to the Corporation officials many times to desilt the channel but in vain. Once in a month the Corporation conservancy workers clean the drain, that too at the surface level. The silt has covered half of the total depth of the channel now," says M. Kandappan, a resident of Vidya Nagar.

Not desilted

The channel passes through several residential colonies before joining the Thirumanimutharu River, which has long been converted into a major sewage channel for the city. The entire stretch of Vidya Nagar drainage channel needs to be desilted but no efforts have been taken up for years now. "Because of the irresponsible act of a few persons who dispose the solid waste into the ditch, thousand others suffer," says N.Saravanan, another resident.

Adding to their woes, the dye factories in the Ammapet are also discharging their wastewater into the drainage.

"The smell is unbearable. Children in the area are the worst-hit and they often fall ill," says G. Sathishkumar, a local resident.

When it rains, water mixes with drainage and overflows to colonies. One has to walk in knee-deep water, he adds.

Because of water stagnation, the open drain serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Corporation blamed

The ward councillor, Uma Raj (BJP), says that the channel is not cleaned because of shortage in sanitation staff and blames the Corporation for not allocating sufficient sanitary workers.

"My ward has only 16 workers. I have argued in the council several times for more sanitation workers," she adds.

"People use the drains to dump garbage. We will attend to the problem," assures the City Health Officer, B. Premkumar.

Since Vidya Nagar is densely populated and houses are in close proximity, it is difficult for the workers to clean the silt off from the drain, he adds.

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