Morning walkers raise a stink over open sewer in park

The park has been a blessing for residents of Vijayalakshmipuram, Menambedu and Abiramapuram, who walk, practise yoga and meditate in thepark. It is the only green space for them. The next nearest park is around five kilometres away in Krishnapuram, near TI Cycles.

“The clogged open-drain inside the park has been like this for at least three months after an illegal sewage outlet was piped in. It should be immediately blocked as the sewage in the park is muddy and acts as a breeding ground for mosquitoesbesides other posing health hazards,” said Ganesh Babu, a resident of Abiramapuram near Ambattur, who visits the park regularly.

The public claimed that illegal sewage is let into storm water drains. “There isn’t any other way for the sewage to flow into the park. The storm water drains are meant for rainwater but people have let out sewage into them,” said Venugopal KV, another resident.

When contacted, Sathish Kumar, executive engineer, Ambattur zone, said, “The nearby culvert was cleaned recently. Mud has been blocking the culvert and so the water was flowing into the park. On Wednesday, we cleared the block and thus stopped the sewage flow into the park.”