Citizen Connect: Rain turns unfinished drains into breeding spots for mosquitoes in Avadi

The monsoon has begun, worsening dengue scare across the city and suburbs. Despite Tiruvallur being among the worse-hit districts in the State, with numbers rising each passing day, officials of the newly-formed Avadi Corporation have not bothered to take preventive measures, complain residents here.

Many are of the view that the Corporation has taken up underground drainage work at the wrong time - just before the onset of the monsoon. Due to this, the work has been stalled midway, with roads dug up at several places and concrete work stopped in haphazard manner, and rainwater stagnating in all the pits.

"Corporation officials are visiting each house to check whether we have kept our places clean to prevent breeding of mosquitoes. But they turn a blind eye on stagnant water on the pits across Avadi. Corporation workers who paste the checklist for dengue awareness must check this first before asking us to follow it," said an angry resident on condition of anonymity.

Krishna Prasad, another resident, said that the roads being dug up have resulted in traffic snarls even in the inside lanes. According to him, this poses twin hazards to the people: the stagnant water serves as perfect breeding spot for mosquitoes, while the pits submerged under the sheet of water pose danger to motorists. “What were the officials doing throughout the extended summer this year," he asked, alleging that the contractors begin work only during monsoon to claim additional cost citing rains as the reason.

Residents complain that there is no underground sewage system and treatment plants in Avadi Corporation. Some say underground pipes were laid five years ago, but was abandoned halfway through. Thus, sewage from residential buildings are let out into storm water drains.

Garbage is another concern for the residents of the Corporation. As conservancy workers stopped collecting waste from interior areas, the residents there are using vacant plots in the neighbourhood to dump their waste. "When we inquired conservancy workers, they claimed they are not able to cover the entire area assigned to them due to manpower shortage. They claim that officials themselves told them to clear garbage only from main roads," claimed Murali, a resident.

Despite repeated attempts, officials from Avadi Corporation did not respond.