GCC staff finally attend to complaint after months of neglect in Perambur

CHENNAI: After neglecting the complaint for several months, the workers of Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) finally attended to the concerns of Perambur residents.

The complaint filed by residents in May to corporation staff on open manhole chambers and damaged Storm Water Drains (SWDs) was left unattended by the department. The garbage in the area was causing concern about clogging SWDs.

Speaking to DT Next, C Raghu Kumar, convener of the Perambur neighbourhood development forum and secretary of the Alliance of Residents Welfare Association (AoRWA) said, “The issue had been persisting at the Venkataraman Street and Perambur High Road, along the railway compound wall. Despite filing a complaint on May 24 to GCC, there was no action.”

Raghu further pointed out that if the manhole was not cleared up anytime soon, it would clog the Storm Water Draoms during the Northeast monsoon, likely to begin in October.

Though the issues at Venkataraman Street belonging to Ward 71 and Zone 6 were flagged several times to both officials and through Twitter, GCC has been postponing the work allegedly due to lack of workers.

“When asked the concerned department officials in June, we were informed that there are only two workers in the place of ten. Hence, the officials are expecting the department to sign new contracts to address the complaints,” added Raghu.

However, as the work has been finally completed, the residents have thanked the GCC workers.

A corporation worker said, “We have rectified the issue after the Ward 71 area councillor Punithavathi Aththiraasan altered us.”