Perumbakkam residents plagued by sewage overflow

CHENNAI: For the last 3 months, residents of Perumbakkam Slum Clearance Board tenements, who were evicted from the city slums, are forced to wade through sewage as the sewer lines in the tenements are overflowing.

S Govindan, activist and a resident of Perumbakkam tenement, said that overflowed sewage is stagnant in all streets from AA Block to AH Block and A Block to U Block. “The affected streets house an Anganwadi centre, a primary school and ration shops. Students and residents have to navigate through sewage and there’s a risk of disease outbreak in the tenements,” he added.

As Perumbakkam tenements are under the maintenance of Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB), the sewage removal works are being done by the Board.

“There’s no proper underground sewage in the tenements. The Board collects sewage from buildings into a well, and pump it into a nearby sewage treatment plant. Whenever residents raise the issue, workers remove sewage from the well using lorries. But sludge and other solid particles would remain inside the well,” he said.

Due to the sludge, the capacity of the well has been reduced drastically as within a few hours after removing sewage, it’d be full again. This results in reverse flow and overflowing.

When contacted, a Metro Water official explained that the Perumbakkam tenements fall outside the Chennai Corporation limit, and the maintenance and other related works are the responsibility of the TNUHDB.

“But, we’ve taken over the maintenance of the sewage treatment plant from the TNUHDB. We’re properly maintaining the plant,” the official said.

Meanwhile, TNUHDB officials said that measures will be taken to resolve the sewage overflow issue permanently.

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