CHENNAI: For over three months, debris from a demolished storm water drain (SWD) has remained uncleared on Jawaharlal Nehru Salai near the entrance to Thiru Nagar 1st Street, narrowing access and preventing autorickshaws from entering the residential stretch.
Residents lamented that stagnant sewage in the incomplete drain has created health hazards and affected livelihoods, despite repeated complaints.
“More than 50 families live on the street. Last year, the Highways department began reconstructing the old drain along the stretch, which remains incomplete due to official apathy,” a resident explained. “During the recent monsoon, rainwater mixed with sewage overflowed from the unfinished drain and stagnated across the street.”
S Krishnaveni, a resident of Thiru Nagar 1st Street, said the continuous overflow had eroded the soil beneath the road. “If this is not addressed soon, the road could cave in. An electrical pillar box was also shifted from its original location, leaving live cables submerged in sewage, posing a serious risk of electrocution,” she added.
Concurring with her was G Arun, a resident of Vadapalani, who runs a mobile phone repair shop near the street entrance for 14 years. “Despite repeated complaints through the CM Cell and also speaking to Highways officials, nothing has changed or improved,” he fumed. “Mosquito menace is so severe that I cannot sit inside the shop. The stalled work has hit my business. After 6 pm, I have to stand outside to attend to customers.”
Another resident accused commercial establishments of encroaching on the footpaths along the 650-metre stretch from Dr Kamarajar Hospital to Arumbakkam Metro. “There is no space left for pedestrians. Pavement work has been incomplete for more than two months, and the piled-up debris blocks the road, significantly reducing the width of Nehru Salai,” the resident said.
Responding to complaints, an official from the State Highways department overseeing city roads explained that work had been halted due to the monsoon and a temporary ban on road cutting. “As the ban has now been lifted, SWD construction and other pending works will resume within the next couple of days,” the official said.