MADHAVARAM: Poor drainage system puts residents in troubled waters

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai, on September 28, 2010:

CHENNAI: For the 300-odd families residing in VRD Nagar under Madhavaram municipal limits, the untimely rains brought them misery as the storm water drain (SWD) network in their colony did not have proper connectivity with the main line and was overflowing all these months and became a fertile ground for mosquito breeding. Thus, it poses severe health hazards to the residents.

The locals blame Madhavaram municipality for the poor planning and the mess it created, but municipal officials said a land dispute near the main road had prevented them from providing connectivity for the SWD with the main line.

Whatever the reason, the ultimate sufferers were the locals who have been living in the colony for the last 15 years, lamented Kannan, a VRD Nagar resident.

During monsoon days, flooding and heavy waterlogging were common scenes for the last several years and it was still continuing despite constructing storm water drains three years ago, he said.

According to another resident, after much persuasion by local residents, Madhavaram municipality had constructed SWDs here, but the whole purpose of having a system of this kind in the colony was defeated as it became a stand-alone one and accumulated water had to be drained out every time using high-power ed motors.

Though officials claimed it was a land dispute that prevented the contractor from connecting the drain with the main line on the road, the ward councillor said the civic body was not interested in completing the work owing to “different reasons”.

According to Ward-14 councillor B Loganathan, the particular strip of land has been in the illegal custody of an influential local politician for years and taking it for the drain-connectivity would lead to a major law and order problem.

“There is no truth in the official’s claim that the patch is a private land with proper patta, hence they cannot dig up for setting up drain,” Loganathan told Express.

Since the drain-connectivity issue continues for the past three years, a permanent solution seems to be eluding. The locals are now bracing for the next round of water-logging and other problems in the coming days.