Following heavy rain on Sunday night, the District Court complex in Madurai resembled a pond due to water stagnation.
Streams of litigant and advocates were seen cautiously avoiding the puddles of water to find a safe and clean path to the courts and the Bar Association. T. Ramalingam, an advocate, said “The second floor is filled with slush as even the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), Second Sub Court and Additional Munisif's court Madurai town had remnants of water in the morning,” he said.
R. Janani, a litigant, said it was quite a task to reach the parking lot through stagnating rainwater.
According to an advocate, this water used to flow through a channel that was connected to Melamadai. But, due to lack of maintenance, this channel had been blocked.
S.Tamilarasan, president, Madurai Bar Association, said of Rs. 1.5 crore had been sanctioned for improving amenities at the district court. “The Public Works Department had inspected the premises two months ago. They have suggested the deepening of the pond at the court, construction of a stormwater drain and clearing of channels that are located close to the court. Public tenders are yet to be called for. We hope to receive the approval of tender within 15 to 20 days,” he said.
Earlier, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had asked the Public Works Department to address the issue of water logging in the District Court campus. The PWD Department had submitted an estimate of ₹2.64 crore for filling gravel in water-logging areas and for building a retaining wall to utilise water.