Residents urge CMWSSB to speed up repair

After the north-east monsoon wreaked havoc in the city last month, the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewage Board (CMWSSB) has awoken and is taking up some restoration work. The heavy rainfall and floods damaged the sewage pipelines and pits that had been dug, leading to sewage water overflowing. While CMWSSB officials claimed that they carried out repair works, bearing in mind the public’s complaints, some residents lamented that the CMWSSB should go the extra mile to complete all the works. 

Sources said that heavy flooding created several caveins in many parts of the city, spurring CMWSSB officials into action. They had received many complaints in connection with the flood restoration works — there were over 70,000 manholes, which had been damaged by the rain and this had affected sewage management systems too. Further, some residents complained that the damage in the sewage water pipelines caused the overflow of waste, which was causing the bad odour. 

“The CMWSSB officials should identify places where the rainfall damaged manholes through which the rainwater might have flowed. Further, my area also has a couple of damaged manholes, and sewerage water sometimes flows onto the interior road,” says M Kannan, a resident of K.K Nagar (near Amman Nagar). M Kumar, a resident of T Nagar, pointed out that it would have been difficult for officials to identify these places in such a big city and that the area’s executive engineers should be pressed into action to undertake repair works. 

According to CMWSSB officials, they were taking up flood restoration works in a swift manner and areas like Mogappair (East and West), Velacherry, Thondayarpet and Ambattur had been covered. 

Repair work at the pumping station in Adyar was also under way and all the damaged manholes had been restored. Dr B Chandra Mohan, managing director, CMWSSB, told DtNext that they had made repairs a priority. 

“Works pertaining to laying sewage pipes and desilting would be completed shortly,” he said, adding that he had instructed the area engineers to monitor the situation round the clock.