Residents of Ismailpuram say that the last time their ward was given any consideration by the Corporation was about three years ago when their councillor sought the laying of paver block roads in all of the 20 streets.
Today, the narrow roads of Ward 51 have bumps and craters as the paver blocks have fallen apart. The only wide stretch — Ismailpuram 12th street — serves as a connecting point, is filled with bikes and scooters, making it severely congested, add residents. D. Muthuraman, a long-term resident of the area, said that Munichalai main road that leads to Ismailpuram from the main city is often choked with traffic in the evening.
“Since there is heavy flow of vehicles, it is common to see many minor accidents. Though they are not fatal, many are caused by the piles of sand and dust accumulated in corners and due to potholes,” he says.
Muthuraman adds that though there is no water problem in the area, the streets become small community pools during monsoon. “Since the drainage systems here are not up to date, it is common to encounter large puddles of water. Due to this issue, there is a massive rat and mosquito infestation in this ward. All 19 streets usually face some form of water logging,” he said.
The monsoon also brings with it the problem of overflowing stormwater drains. The Panaiyur channel that was once a pipeline that transported Vaigai river water to Panaiyur and all agricultural lands along its pathway is now a dumping ground for everyday garbage. Another resident M. Ravichandran, who has been living here for 52 years, says that many residents who have newly constructed houses have not yet connected their septic tanks to the underground drainage, causing the untreated sewage to mix into the channel.
“The members of the civic body only cleaned the channel in Ward 50 (Swami Sannidhi) near Obulapadithurai. We do not recall any Corporation official visiting and inspecting our ward or sanctioning works in the recent past,” he said.
He adds that no effort has been made to educate or raise awareness of the plastic ban in Madurai.
“The Corporation workers collect garbage from houses every morning. However, the people are used to the practice of flinging the waste around — both into the channel and the river. More education is a necessity,” he said. There is a Corporation Middle School at Ismailpuram that caters to the children of the ward and an Urban Primary Health Centre in Ward 73 — across the road for most of the ward.
Residents estimate a total of 5,000 families are living here. They hope to solve the problems for a more comfortable living. A Corporation official from the Health Department says efforts have already been made to bring to light the plastic ban set to begin on January 1, 2019. He says that school teachers regularly tell students about the importance of the ban.
“We hope it reaches families through them,” he says. He adds that more steps would be taken to clean the channel.