Residents of R.S. Puram who will be the first to enjoy the benefit from the water supply distribution project, will also be the first to undergo the pains of navigating roads damaged due to the execution of the work.
Suez Projects Pvt. Ltd. that executes the project on behalf of the Corporation will dig roads for 60 km in Wards 23 and 24 and a part of Ward 79 to lay distribution pipeline and house service connection pipelines.
The residents got the first taste of what they will have to undergo in the last couple of weeks when the city experienced summer showers.
They will have to brace for more when the South-West Monsoon hits the city, a fortnight from now.
“One of the troubles we faced and will have to face is reduced carriageway on account of dug earth being dumped on one side of the road and vehicles parked on the other,” says R. Shanthakumar, a resident.
To minimise the residents’ inconvenience and also those who pass, enter or pass through R.S. Puram, the Corporation should ask Suez Projects Pvt. Ltd. to restore roads at the earliest, he said.
A senior official says that the mandate the civic body has given to the company is to quickly restore the roads it digs for laying pipeline and that includes levelling the surface.
A senior Corporation official says that it is in the process of rebuilding roads in R.S. Puram.
The civic body has floated tenders for R.S. Puram and a few other localities for ₹40 crore and has also issued work orders to the successful bidders.
Meanwhile, the Corporation has written to the company to execute the project in such a way that it takes up work in a pocket, complete all the work including providing house service connections before moving to the next so that the civic body can at once take up road construction.
Storm water drains
East Periasamy Road resident D. Venkataramanan says that the Corporation should also clean the storm water drains ahead of the monsoon because the dug earth dumped on roadsides are choking the drains. “If the Corporation cleans the drains, it can at least minimise inundation on roads.” Corporation officials say they will clean the drains as well.