CHENNAI: A cow that fell into an open soak pit in VGN Nagar, Iyyappanthangal, on Tuesday morning was rescued after more than an hour’s effort by the Fire and Rescue Services team. The incident occurred around 8 am on 3rd Cross Street.

According to residents, the soak pit cover had become weak with age and gave way when the animal stepped on it.

“Absence of a drainage network and poor maintenance of existing soak pits have turned into a persistent safety issue,” said activist Senthil from Iyyappanthangal. “Nearly 60-70% of the houses here have soak pits built on the roadside, as many small plots don’t have space inside their compounds. Only about half the streets have storm water drains too, and those have been closed for the past two years.

Falling under the Kundrathur panchayat, the locality has no proper drainage. So most households depend on roadside soak pits, leading to such accidents.

Senthil added, “There is a proposal to bring Iyyappanthangal under the Maangadu municipality, which is likely to be finalised next year. Once that happens, we can expect better infrastructure. Until then, residents have no choice but to manage with soak pits.”