Chitlapakkam residents want early completion of pending drainage work

The total length of the construction is 865 metres and connects the stormwater drains from the locality to the Sembakkam lake. “During rainfall, the water stagnates and leads to flooding. No steps were taken by the officials to stop water stagnation in the locality,” said Vishwanath, convener of Chitlapakkam Residents Associations Coordination Committee. He further said that the work, which was started by the PWD more than one and a half years ago, is still incomplete. If the construction is over, the water will get drained immediately and enter Sembakkam lake, he added.

“We hope that the residential areas won’t be flooded this monsoon season and the surplus water from Chitlapakkam lake and the Selaiyur lake will reach Sembakkam lake,” he added.

Residents said that the delay in work has caused traffic congestion in the area. Even though, the officials have sped up the work in the past month, the work as slowed down after the rain. The work is yet to be completed on Sethunarayanan Street, Bharathi Street and Pamphan Swamigal Salai.

“The road is muddy and it is scary to step out of the house as one might fall into the pit. Routes have been diverted since last year. We must drive for more than three kilometres to reach the main road. We urged the officials to complete the work when they inspected,” said Murugesan N, a resident.

A senior PWD official said that for the past four weeks, they have made regular visits, inspected the work progress and tried to speed up the construction work. “Only around 40 metres of work is left, which will be completed within a week.” the official added.