Residents deal with open manholes, contaminated water and missing road
A road branching out from Chellandiamman Nagar near housing unit in Singanallur has turned slushy and inaccessible
Coimbatore: It is an urban nighrmare for hundreds of residents living in the housing unit in Singanallur. Amid puddles of water that stagnate at every street junction, the uncovered manholes are an open invitation to danger to motorists and pedestrians. A slight drizzle is enough to make the road that branches out of Chellandiamman Nagar get slushy and unmotorable. "Though several roads were laid anew only a few months ago, no patch work was done on this prominent stretch. This road, which was in good condition, has now been battered due to continuous movement of heavy vehicles deployed to lay roads in other areas," said a local resident.
Similar is the fate of several other roads in the interior areas. A slew of open manholes pose danger to people using the stretch beyond the C wing housing block. "Residents closed down a few open manholes using concrete slabs on realising the dangers. Still there are at least two open manholes which are hardly visible when a stream of water flows down during the rains. They may turn into death traps if they are not closed," said Mr S. Natrajan, a clerk.
Compounding the woes of residents is the mixing of sewage in the sump where drinking water is stored and supplied to 1,500-odd houses in the housing unit. "Whenever the sump gets filled, it overflows into an open tank which has foul smelling dirty water. And if there is any dip in the water level in the sump, the dirty water from the open tank seeps into the sump and gets mixed with drinking water. There is also a garbage yard nearby," said Mr C. Chandrasekar, a tailor and resident of the area.
As an eyesore to the locality, the housing board has also dumped several loads of mud brought from elsewhere at the end of the C wing block. "Mounds of mud slide down and spread over to the road, turning it slushy. Though we resisted the dumping of mud, the workers said they would remove them, but it has been lying over there for the last three months," complained Mr K. Chandrasekar, former secretary of the Singai Nagara Bharathi Veetu Urimayalargal Nala Sangam.
"The other day, I slipped and fell on this slushy stretch while walking. Scores of school students and office-goers go by this stretch that branches out to Varadarajapuram and Uppilipalayam," said 70-year-old K. Rajagopalan. Councillor representing ward 64, Mr K. Sedhuraj told DC that the civic body could not take up road-laying works due to elections. "Works could not be done for the last six months due to the parliamentary elections, which was soon followed by mayoral elections. However, once the rains stop, I will make efforts to take up the road works," he said.
Next Story
