Citizen Connect: Padi residents plan agitation after being forced to wade through drain water for over 2 weeks

Every time that residents of NSK Street, also known as Munishwaran Street at Kalaivanar Nagar in Padi, step out, they have to wade through liquid sewage.

Leaking drainage has become a permanent feature in the area and it has been a couple of weeks that the residents have adapted to live with it. While the street — which falls under Ward No 88 — has gathered moss due to the stagnation of the sewage, it has become an ideal place for breeding mosquitoes, complain residents.

“Authorities visit unnecessarily our streets to carry out prevention measures if senior officials put pressure on them when there is an outbreak of disease elsewhere. But we have complained several times about stagnation of the drainage water on the road, but it all has fallen in deaf ears,” says Norbert Rosario, a resident.

At least one person from most of the families here is unwell, and children and the elderly are the most affected, claimed residents. “Apart from the fear of malaria and dengue, children cannot go out and play on the street, while senior citizens’ movements too are restricted because of the sewage-flooded street. We cannot park our bikes in front of the houses and we have been using bricks to step over the sewage and reach home,” says Prakash, another resident.

The street is surrounded by temples, churches, schools and a park, but it is still ignored despite several petitions to authorities concerned, complain residents. “If necessary steps are not taken, we have no other option but to block the road and stage a protest,” say residents.

Commenting on the matter, CMWSSB’s area engineer for Ambattur said, “Sewage from the area is pumped through single main line and to prevent the motor from overheating, we stop the motor after two hours. Since it is a low-lying area, the street gets inundated. We have already attended to the issue and an alternative solution has been planned to divert the excess sewage water. We have sought permission from the Corporation Zonal Officer to dig the road and the work will begin on Friday.”