Chennai: Residents of Officers Colony Fourth street in Metha Nagar, Aminjikarai, in the city, located near Cooum river, face numerous problems everyday.
According to Viswanathan, a senior citizen, who has been living here for more than 60 years,”First thing is the sewage from the street that mixes with the river. Because of this, during the floods, the waters entered the street and the whole area got inundated.”
Viswananathan who is also the Welfare Association president for this locality, stated that he personally faced a loss of more than Rs three lakh, when water entered his home.
“It was a tumultuous time and being a resident of this area for more than six decades, it was the first time that the street was flooded because of the sewage opening,” he added.
Similarly, Prakash, a resident, said,”When we enquired about this issue, we realised that none of the households here have let out the waste and that it had come from the adjacent street.”
“Till 2015, there was a huge stone placed as a barricade at the end of this lane, so that vehicles would not enter the river bank. But soon, people from the Corporation destroyed it stating that they will be setting up a sewage pipeline. From then, a number of lorries come everyday to dump waste,” he said.
Viswanathan also pointed out to another problem of dumping waste materials on the river bank here.
Prakash too recollected that a few months back they had prevented sand mining.
“We got suspicious on seeing a large number of vehicles near the river, and later realised that an illegal activity was taking place. We subsequently alerted officials and action was taken.”
The locals here appeal that the above-mentioned issues of unwarranted access to the river bank and the need for a barricade to prevent illegal activities, must be taken care of.