Chennai: Reverse flow of sewage irks VV Colony residents

CHENNAI: Reverse flow of sewage into homes at VV Colony second street is a common sight. With Covid fear looming large, the residents have complained to the metro water department several times to ensure the pipeline is cleared of silt and blockages, but to no avail.
S Vijayan, a resident whose backyard is filled with sewage, said: "Since 2015, we have been facing this issue. The road level has been incraesing over the years and so have the manholes. Now, my house is one-foot below the road that leads to surging back of sewage into my house compound wall. The pumping station is located 50 manholes away from my house at a gradient of 23-feet. It is just 1.5km away. So we do not understand why the sewage is not being cleared," he said.
Metro water officials when contacted said that there was an issue with some motors at the pumping station which was being rectified.
In fact, the complaint of this particular resident has been addressed regularly. "We are aware of the issue and have been clearing the sewage whenever a complaint has been raised," said an official.
However, Vijayan said it has been 75 days since the metro water officials replied to them after they raised a compaint in May. "They should inspect all manholes from my house up to the pumping station and remove deposited silt and resolvev the problem permanently," he said.
This problem is not just limited to Adambakkam. Even residents in Vadapalani and those in houses that are below the road level face this problem periodically.
A resident on Alagiri nagar main road has been spending a sum of 8000 at least twice a year to clear the sewage blocks in pipeline. "Unless there is some issue in the pumping station, there would be no blockages. Either the station may have been shut for maintenance or some repair work. However, we will look into these complaints," said an area engineer in Adambakkam.
A senior metro water official said they are periodically cleaning and maintaining the sewage pipelines and there is no maintenance issue.
"Many of these connections are really old. The residents need to renew their connection. Infact, we came up with a new scheme where with just a phone call, they could get their new connection confirmed. However, many are not willing to pay for the new connection," said a senior official.