Chennai Citizen Connect: Captain Cotton Canal nearly choked due to garbage dumping

CHENNAI: The British who ruled over India might have had a different vision for the capital city when they built the Captain Cotton Canal system, ostensibly to carry flood water, but little they would have realised then that modern-day independent India’s people would ‘innovatively’ use it as an open sewer. The case is worse when the canal reaches the stretch at Anderson Road near Ayanavaram bus stand, where plastic waste and garbage block the flow of the canal’s grey water, amid chaos created by Metro Rail works in the area.

"The stretch of the canal is a mix of residential and commercial areas. With Metro work in progress near the Ayanavaram bus depot, we are not sure if the conservancy workers are clearing the garbage on a daily basis on Anderson Road, housing a large number of eateries and restaurants," said Raghukumar Choodamani, a resident and convener of Community Welfare Brigade.

"Untreated raw sewage is also being let directly into this canal and destroying the canal," Raghukumar added.

The residents demand the canal to be restored and officials to take necessary measures. They also complain about the health hazards residents could face due to the garbage cloaking the canal and requested for immediate action.

In some areas of the city the waste water from corporate offices or residential areas are directly let into the water bodies and officials don't take any necessary steps for the issue, residents lament.

The officials concerned were not reachable when contacted by DT Next.