Slow pace of sewage pipe laying work irks Anna Nagar residents

They claim that the work, progressing at a snail’s pace, is causing severe traffic jam, especially during peak hours. The residents also complain that poor planning has resulted in even the pedestrian pathways being blocked creating a chaotic and unsafe condition for road users.

The work under way involves replacing the old sewage pipes with larger ones to ensure that frequent blockages do not occur in them. The process involves meticulous planning in replacing the pipes in stages as instant removal of the old pipes will affect sewage flow to the main treatment plant in Koyambedu.

An area engineer of Metro Water board, who claimed that work as of now is in full swing along the main roads, said, “It has become necessary for us to undertake this work, since the size of the pipes laid many years ago was less than 600 mm diameter. Now, the size of new pipes is as much as 1,000 mm diameter making the process of pipe-laying difficult,” the engineer said.

Meanwhile, pedestrians have urged the officials to speed up the work. “During peak hours, the stretch experiences high volume of traffic and under such conditions it becomes extremely difficult to walk on the roads especially with earth movers and the dug up sand reducing the road width,” said A Vinoth Kumar, a hotel worker, who regularly walks to Koyambedu from Shanthi Colony.

When contacted, a spokesperson of Metro Water board, noting that necessary permission has been obtained to start the work, said, “The work began only just six months ago and it would take at least another six months to complete, since it is not easy to lay such big pipes underground.”