The Iyyapanthangal panchayat has increased the road height while re-laying concrete road at VGN Nagar recently

CHENNAI: The Iyyappanthangal panchayat has increased the road height while re-laying the concrete road at VGN Nagar recently. This has forced residents to increase their ramp and ground floor levels to prevent inflow of rainwater into their premises during the monsoon.

“The street would flood during the monsoon every year. So, the local body re-laid the concrete road to prevent water stagnation,” said Senthil Kumar, a resident and civic activist at VGN Nagar in Iyyappanthangal. “Usually, contract workers dump debris before laying the road, but this time they increased the height by putting debris. Also, each homeowner was asked to pay Rs 5,000 for the road re-lay.”

After the concrete road was re-laid, the height increased more than the ground level of the homes in the area. Residents lament over the waste of their money, as the risk of inundation has shifted from flooded streets to flooded homes. Additionally, all residents have to revamp their floors, incurring extra cost.

“To prevent the inflow of excess rainwater to our homes, we’re forced to spend Rs 50,000 to raise the level of the ground floor and gate. Since houses are yet to get sewage connection, the roads will be dug up again for the connection. They should have carried out the sewage connection work before re-laying the road,” said R Kannan, another resident of Iyyappanthangal.

When contacted, a senior official with the Iyyappanthangal village panchayat, said: “The road was re-laid to prevent water stagnation during the monsoon. Also, a few residents spent money to put debris before re-laying the road to increase the road height which would prevent inundation. If there is any issue during the monsoon, we’ll consider re-laying it again.”