Citizen Connect: Rains gone, but playground in Anakaputhur still inundated
Stagnant water also leads to mosquito breeding posing health threats, say residents of the locality
Inundated government school playground
CHENNAI: A government school playground near the third main road of Anakaputhur is still waterlogged, even after the withdrawal of north east monsoon.
Locals lament that authorities haven’t taken steps to clear the inundation, despite the city and suburbs not receiving a single drop of rain for the last one month.
Apart from pushing the playground out of reach for the school students, stagnant water also leads to mosquito breeding, posing health threats, say residents of the locality. “Earlier we were complaining about poor upkeep of the playground. Now we are forced to live with fears of spread of diseases such as malaria and dengue because of water logging. No action has been taken to resolve the long term issue”, said B Sasi, a resident living near the playground.
“In addition, hundreds of stray dogs come to the ground on a regular basis in search of food since people indiscriminately throw garbage”, he said.
A senior official from Anakaputhur municipality said that proper upkeep of the ground is the responsibility of the school. “The school has not used the playground at all. Not even sports activities for the children”, he said.
Another resident staying near the playground, R Gopinath, demanded construction of a compound or at least a fence to protect it. “The ground also needs deweeding”, he added. The resident wanted a security guard appointed take care of the ground throughout the year as miscreants allegedly use the ground to consume liquor in the broad daylight.
