Over two-year delay in underground drainage work rankles residents of Pammal, Anagaputhur

CHENNAI: It has been more than two years since the underground drainage (UDG) work began, and residents of Pammal and Anagaputhur are still waiting for it to be completed.

Tambaram Corporation decided to construct the UGD in the area after decades of demand from the public. When the work began, residents were relieved as they believed their sanitation woes were coming to an end.

Fast forward to today, and they’re facing new miseries. The UGD work is progressing at a snail’s pace. The roads are dug up at different places, and so poorly maintained that they have become slushy and slippery when it rains. This has made navigating the road a nightmare – for both pedestrians and motorists.

“The streets on which the pipelines were supposed to be laid in Pammal and Anagaputhur are not closed fully, and most of them have potholes big enough to cause accidents,” lamented a resident of Pammal. “Streets have become unsafe for both motorists and pedestrians due to accidents, especially when it rains”.

Concurring with this resident was Karthikeyan, another resident, who pointed to the Pammal-Pozhichalur Road, and said, “People are forced to walk through muddy and uneven stretches. Even newly laid roads have begun peeling off due to improper laying.”

Residents bemoaned their everyday life, which has been severely hit. School and college students struggle to reach institutions on time, office-goers face delays, and even ambulances find it difficult to access interior streets. Auto drivers are reportedly refusing rides, citing road conditions.

When contacted, Tambaram Corporation officials admitted delays to DT Next but also stated, “Around 75% of the work is completed. Out of 516 roads that require relaying, 400 have already been resurfaced, while tenders have been floated for the rest. Challenges like underground power cables, water pipelines, and communication lines have slowed down progress. But the remaining stretches will be completed by the end of September. Contractors have been directed to rectify defects under the one-year maintenance clause.”