The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Rains over, but waterlogging stays

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 16, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Rains over, but waterlogging stays

J. Malarvizhi

Residents of suburbs continue to wade through a foot of water and sewage

STILL NO RELIEF: Residents of Amman Nagar and BHEL Nagar find it hard going, even weeks after the heavy rain. — Photo: R. Shivaji Rao

CHENNAI: Residents of Amman Nagar and BHEL Nagar, Madhunandhapuram, here continue to wade through a foot of water and sewage, even weeks after the heavy rain.

Residents also complain that their wells have become contaminated and that the water drawn from bore wells smells foul.

Encroachments, both on the Porur Lake and the culvert to Manapakkam, prevent the water from draining, they claim.

Panchayat officials stepped in to pump out water after it rose to waist level last month, but they are yet to propose a permanent solution, residents say.

The colonies are part of the 1986 CMDA layout, one of the oldest, but they still lack underground drainage, pucca roads and drinking water supply.

The open drains in the colonies, adjacent to Porur Lake, have worsened matters. Bore well water has become unusable and residents have to wade through a mixture of sewage and water for everything - from getting milk, newspapers or gas to sending children to school.

If roads had been laid properly after the rainwater was pumped out, the lake water would not have seeped back, says resident Aadhi Narayanan.

Resident Leo Jasonraj is worried about other hazards as well. "We have killed 15 snakes so far,'' he said.

Residents wonder why the encroachments on the parts of the lake in Kundrathur block of Kancheepuram district and the culvert remain despite the high profile drives to clear encroachments on the Cooum and water bodies.

Petitions to the authorities concerned have drawn no response, says Mr. Narayanan.

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