Clogged drains, mosquito menace plague Maraimalai Nagar
The presence of several factories and a few government offices see a good number of people travelling to Maraimalai Nagar every day.
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CHENNAI: Clogged and overflowing drains coupled with mosquito menace have made Maraimalai Nagar a living nightmare for residents. Residents claim the Maraimalai Nagar municipality officials are not taking adequate steps to repair the drainage lines.
Maraimalai Nagar Municipality consists of 21 wards, with a population of more than 1.5 lakh people. The municipality is one of the crucial ones in the suburbs of Chennai, as areas such as East and West Potheri, Panankathur, Thailavaram, Kudaloor, and Sri Nagar come under Maraimalai Nagar.
The presence of several factories and a few government offices see a good number of people travelling to Maraimalai Nagar every day. The area was upgraded to a municipality owing to an increase in its population. But residents feel infrastructure and civic services were better when it was a panchayat. Residents point out that after being upgraded as a municipality, there has been a huge hike in water tax and house tax but development projects and municipal services have not been at par.
In many areas, underground drainage lines get clogged and drain water overflows onto streets. As this water remains stagnant for days, it becomes a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. With the rising cases of viral fever and dengue in the district, Maraimalai residents are agitated at the indifference of the municipal authorities.
Residents say mosquito menace has become a part of everyday life here, and many children and elderly people get frequent fever infections. If the situation continues, they fear that dengue will spread to more parts of the village and the situation might go out of control.
As streets are inundated with drain water, they are not fit for pedestrians. And if they have to walk by, say residents, they either hold their breath or cover their nose because of the nauseating smell.
The municipality should not only focus on collecting tax from the people, instead they should also make sure that we are provided with proper basic facilities, says Devendran, an activist and resident of Maraimalai Nagar.
When contacted, an official from the Maraimalai Nagar municipality said the underground drainage line was constructed around 40 years ago. Over the years, most of the pipeline has undergone damage and overflows. We have decided to replace the sewage line in all of the 21 wards with a new pipeline. The work is in the initial stages. We hope to complete the work as soon as possible and fix the drainage issue once and for all.
