Chennai
For residents of PS Sivaswamy Salai, the slow pace of stormwater drain works outside their homes, is a huge cause for concern, especially after the facades of two homes collapsed during the exercise, a month ago. Fifty-one-year-old Balaji KV, whose house is inhabitable after the collapse, has been staying at a friend’s house since then.
“After the foundation fell, the contractor has not fixed it properly — refusing to do it unless we pay. It is tough for us as we have to stay in somebody else’s house, as the work is going slowly,” he said.
Most of the residents pointed out that there has been little supervision, during the work. “If there is material, the men are not there and vice versa.
If it rains continuously for the next few days, I don’t know which part of my house will fall next,” said AMK Sai, a senior citizen, who is forced to use the first floor of his house, as the ground floor has not drainage or water line. When contacted, a Corporation official refuted the claims, stating that work is underway.
Other parts of Mylapore too suffered from the short spell of welcome rains in the city. Activist CR Balaji said that the Justice Sundaram Road was inundated during this meager rainfall.
“This road is affected even during a short spell of rain, due to increased road heights and absence of a stormwater drain network, which can drain into the Buckingham Canal nearby. Once this road is flooded, it spills over to the Rama Rao Road nearby. The road height was increased year after year, resulting to the present situation.
The Corporation officials promised a stormwater drain network after the previous rains, but it has not been done. now, it is the residents who are bearing the brunt,” he added.
Many other parts of the city were waterlogged after the rain, including neighbourhoods in Pursaiwalkam, Aminjikarai, Avadi, Thirumullaivoyal and Ambattur, to name a few.
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