Chennai
For those living in T-Nagar — and many other parts of the city — a brief spell of rain inevitably leads to water stagnation. To address this, the residents have been demanding the civic body to undertake the desilting of storm water drains at the earliest.
Speaking to DTNext, Jayaram VS, a resident of Motilal Street, said that the desilting efforts were last undertaken at least three years ago. “The lack of regular desilting means that when it rains, the water doesn’t flow through these channels due to the blockages.
Instead, it stagnates on the road, making it difficult for the residents. In fact, many of the storm water drains are not linked properly, and in several instances, sewage has been let into these channels which are meant to carry off the excess rainwater,” he added.
The storm water drains’ efficiency has also been questioned, especially since the road height has increased, resulting in water entering the homes of the residents. “The roads have been re-laid without proper milling [of the top layer of the blacktop], resulting in the raising of the height.
The houses that were built 30 years ago face the problem during rainy season, as water immediately flows inside the premises. It is not enough to just build the storm water drains but maintenance should also be there to ensure they are functional and does the job of draining water from the locality,” added Jayaram, an office-bearer of the T-Nagar Residents Welfare Association.
Rama S, another resident, said, “Every time it rains, water from the road enters our premises. We have complained to the Corporation officials many times but there is no proper response.”
When questioned, a senior Corporation official said regular storm water drain desilting works were being undertaken by the zonal offices to ensure that these channels are functional.
“The de-silting drive will be taken up in the next few days so that we are prepared for the upcoming northeast monsoons later this year,” said the official.
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