The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Velachery residents a worried lot

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Sunday, Jul 13, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Velachery residents a worried lot

R.Srikanth and K.Lakshmi

“Most of the streets flooded with sewage mixed-rainwater every monsoon”

— Photo: N.Sridharan

PERSISTENT DEMAND: Residents of Velachery want the LIC Colony pumping station to be upgraded before monsoon.

CHENNAI: With the north east monsoon only a few months away, residents of flood-prone localities in Velachery are concerned over the slow pace at which sewer network improvement projects are progressing.

Apart from wading through water-logged streets, the residents also have to live in unhygienic conditions because of sewer overflow.

The fact that Velachery is one of the fast-developing residential areas in south Chennai, mainly on account of its proximity to the IT Corridor, has not made much difference to the infrastructure upgradation in the localities.

A former Anna University professor T. Anantha Rajan, who resides in Velachery, said water-logged streets during the monsoon are a common problem in several parts of the city. But, Velachery residents face the risk of health hazards every year as most of the streets are flooded with sewage mixed rainwater.

Prof. Anantharajan attributed the problem to shortfall of stormwater drain network in east Velachery and the letting of rainwater into the sewer network. He said that with Velachery being a low-level area, Chennai Metrowater must have conducted a Geographic Information System (GIS) study to identify the flood-prone localities before embarking on installing the sewer system.

The absence of such as study had resulted in the sewage pumping stations in Velachery, including those in west Velachery, being located on a level higher than the sewer network leading to reverse flow of sewage.

S. Kumararaja, secretary, Federation of Velachery Residents’ Welfare Associations, said that repeated representations have been made to upgrade the sewage pumping station in LIC Colony, Taramani Link Road, which as the main pumping station disposes off the entire load of sewage generated in Velachery. But, the authorities concerned are yet to take action. As the pumping station, located close to Vijaynagar bus terminus, often ceases functioning during monsoon, the sewer network gets affected, he said.

Responding to the residents’ woes, a Metrowater official said work to strengthen the LIC Colony pumping station at the cost of Rs.83 lakh has been proposed and it would be completed in three months. The motors in the stations used to pump out sewage would be upgraded to have a capacity of 250 HP as against the existing capacity of 140 HP for quicker sewage disposal.

Admitting that the area was prone to inundation, he said sewage generated by 3.6 lakh residents of east and west Velachery localities gets routed from five pumping stations to the LIC Colony pumping station. It is then carried to the L.B.Road pumping station from where the sewage is pumped to Perungudi sewage treatment plant. Moreover, the number of streets served in Velachery has also increased from 1,070 in 2006 to about 1,140 in 2008.

Whenever the L.B. Road pumping station is shutdown owing to power failure or maintenance, the sewer disposal activities in Velachery gets affected, he said.

To curb the problem of sewage overflow, Metrowater has a proposal to directly discharge sewage from LIC Colony pumping station to Perungudi. A feasibility study on the project would begin shortly. However, it would take a year to complete the project, he said.

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