Residents in Tiruvallur face health risks as sewage treatment plant pipeline leak continues

TIRUVALLUR: The residents of Deva Nagar in Tiruvallur are facing hardships due to the continuous leakage of treated sewage water from pipelines, at a treatment plant located near the Tiruvallur railway station, resulting in groundwater contamination after getting mixed with rain water, thereby affecting the livelihood of 30 families.

The houses in the locality are surrounded by stagnant sewage water becoming a breeding ground for the mosquitoes, thus paving the way for deadly diseases like dengue, malaria, and cholera. It is to be noted that many had suffered skin diseases over the decade, lamented the residents of Deva Nagar.

Thirty houses are located near the sewage treatment plant at Thanthai Periyar Salai near the Tiruvallur railway station and the residents of Deva Nagar have raised complaints regarding the overflowing sewage water and stagnation around the houses.

The pipelines that carry the treated sewage water from the treatment plant lie two feet below the mud road that the residents use primarily. The new sewage plant construction work near the old sewage plant is under way and heavy vehicles carry the construction materials on this road, eventually damaging the pipelines.

“The frequent plying of heavy vehicles is the reason behind the leakages. Instead of giving a temporary solution by tapping the broken pipes, the municipal authorities have to replace the broken pipelines with new ones by digging deeper. In recent times the muddy road has become slippery and hard for commuters to use. A father and her three-year-old girl fell on the road and escaped with few injuries,” said V Rajagopalan, a resident.

Further, he added, “The residents appealed to the authorities for years to lay a road as they are using a mud road. In the past three Grama Sabha meetings, I questioned the authorities about the road construction work. To repair the damaged mud road, I have spent nearly 60 thousand from my pocket,” claimed Rajagopalan.

Another resident, A Munusami shared a bitter experience he faced: “During the rainy season from October to December, there was a knee-level stagnation in front of my house, and I had to stay at relatives and my daughter’s house. “I had no other choice but to stay at the Veera Raghava Perumal Temple for ten days at night. As the monsoon is around the corner now I have to plan where to stay,” added Munusami.

Another resident Vijay Anand stated, “We were a family of four and because of the contaminated groundwater, we were forced to buy water cans for drinking and cooking purposes.” “I work in a private firm, struggling hard with minimal income. I had to spend around five thousand for hospital due to fever, cold, cough and other diseases,” claimed Vijay Anand.

When DT Next reached out to a higher official at Tiruvallur Municipality to ask about the sewage water leakage, the official stated, “Due to high pressure occurring during the plying of heavy vehicles on the road the pipelines are damaged. The repair works will be completed within a couple of days.”

When questioned about the stagnation, the official added, “The treated water from the sewage treatment plant is disposed of to Cooum River near the Manavala Nagar flyover bridge.”