Kanchi residents complain of sewage in drinking water
The Athi Varadhar festival that attracted lakhs of devotees have come and gone, but the residents of Kancheepuram are still reeling from its aftermath in the form of sewage getting mixed with their drinking water. The people here alleged that the trouble was because of improper laying of pipelines by the local body, which, they added, remain indifferent despite repeated complaints.
By : migrator
Update: 2019-09-02 21:53 GMT
Chennai
Local residents said when they raised the issue earlier, the civic body officials assured that the problem would be solved after the festival at Sri Devarajaswamy temple was over. However, even after a fortnight since the conclusion of the once-in-four-decade event, the pipelines are yet to be repaired.
According to the people here, the drainage pipes were broken in wards 24 to 30 of Kancheepuram Municipality over a period of time.
As a result, the drinking water, which is supplied once in two days, is getting mixed with the underground drainage water. Such is the situation that the residents are unable to use the water not just for drinking, but for any purpose due to the unbearable stench. It is also dark in colour, making the contamination visibly evident.
The situation is particularly bad in areas including Chinna Kancheepuram, Rajaji Market, Vijaygramani Street, Hidhar Pettai, Pudu Street, Rettipettai, Thumbavanam, Venkatesapalaiyam, and Palakarai Street.
“In Gandhi Road and Vijaygramani Street, some of the residents have linked the septic tank water to the storm water drains (SWD). It is overflowing, which puts children heading to the school nearby in a lot of hardship,” said R Sarathi from Kancheepuram.
“We have requested the Municipality several times to repair the pipes. But they told us to wait for a while and that problems will be solved after Athi Varadhar fest. But even now, the situation remains the same,” he said.
When contacted, the Kancheepuram Municipality Commissioner (in-charge) K Mahendran said, “As lakhs of people visited Kancheepuram during Athi Varadhar fest, the septic tanks in the lodges and hotels filled up very fast. So we decided to make them flow through SWD. The issue will soon be resolved.” The damaged pipes would also be repaired shortly, added Mahendran.
The Municipality, the biggest in Kancheepuram district with 51 wards and a population of 2.5 lakh people, is a well-known destination for religious tourism and also for the silk clothes. Recently, more than one crore people visited the temple town in 47 days to worship Lord Athi Varadhar.
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