CHENNAI: Unchecked sewage diversion and severe infrastructure neglect at the Pattabiram railway station have pushed daily rail commuters and residents into a major public health crisis.

Untreated household sewage, diverted into storm water drains (SWDs), is continuously stagnating between the two railway tracks adjacent to the station.

According to the Rail Passengers Association, stagnant sewage has turned the station premises into a hazardous breeding ground for mosquitoes and poisonous insects.

The environmental contamination has severely degraded groundwater quality, making borewell water unsafe and causing widespread skin infections.

A Roy Rozario, president of the Rail Passengers Association and a resident of Pattabiram, said, “I’ve sent a formal letter to CM Cell, Southern Railways and Avadi Corporation to divert the SWD to the Railway Road. However, neither Southern Railway, Avadi Corporation, nor defence authorities have taken concrete action in the last four years to construct proper storm drains and reroute sewage along Railway Road. The bureaucratic shuffling between Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and Avadi Corporation is actively endangering the health and safety of thousands of daily suburban passengers and residents. If an urgent joint inspection is not conducted, we will be constrained to move the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for immediate intervention.”

Echoing him, R Adkikesavan, VP of Rail Passengers Association, said that due to the stagnation, borewell water has turned yellow.

“While testing the water, lab results revealed that the total dissolved solids are 3 times higher than normal. Often, we get a foul smell in the water,” he added. “We’re unable to rely on groundwater, even while paying tax to the Corporation. We’re forced to purchase drinking water regularly in water cans and tanker lorries. Among residents who live near the railway road, we witness widespread skin diseases.”

Since 2009, a scheme to install drinking water supply and sewage infrastructure remains incomplete.

However, in the recently concluded assembly session, the TVK government announced a Rs 500 crore project for a 24/7 uninterrupted drinking water supply system in the Avadi Municipal Corporation.

Responding to the issue, an official in the Avadi Corporation said, “As the land belongs to the Railways Department, we’ll take further action regarding the re-routing. Also, the encroachments alongside the railways will be removed.”

Further, Rozario added, “The Railways department explained that the defence has given the land for use by railways; they do not have the sketch for the area. So he’s unable to move the encroachments.”

Attempts to reach a railway official for a comment proved futile.