Residents of Rajaji Nagar, Ram Nagar (south) and Sadasiva Nagar, Madipakkam, recently met the Zone 14 officials of Greater Chennai Corporation to apprise them about a host of civic problems plaguing their localities.
They want the officials to take steps to reconstruct the stormwater drain culvert at the intersection of Sadasiva Nagar Third Cross Street and Rajaji Nagar Main Road.
Besides, they demand a better garbage disposal system. Other issues include: clearing of bushes in vacant plots, re-laying of roads and closing illegal sewer connections attached to the stormwater drains. M. Anbalagan, president, Madipakkam North East Residents Welfare Association (MNERWA), says, “The slabs of the culvert are broken and the carriageway abutting the culvert is battered, posing great inconvenience to motorists.”
Vacant plots
The locality has many vacant plots, most of which are now being used as a dumping ground and are overgrown with bushes. The plots have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
While welcoming the Corporation for re-laying the roads at Rajaji Nagar, residents have requested the officials to issue a directive to the contractors to maintain the road-level throughout the carriageway and at the intersections.
Now, at an intersection, it is not unusual to come upon two intersecting roads that are of varying heights.
“As Rajaji Nagar Third Street was not levelled properly while re-laying the road, rainwater stagnates on the stretch for a couple of days. Further, steps must be taken to arrest illegal discharge of sewage into stormwater drains. As a result, when workers mill and scrap the road for re-laying work, the pipes get broken and sewage spills onto the road, making the stretch unhygienic. It must be made mandatory that residents install septic tanks,” adds Anbalagan.