The trench and pit the Coimbatore Corporation has dug on Perumal Kovil Street in Konavaikalpalayam, Velllalore, in Ward 99 has troubled the residents to no end. A street which is a part of the old town is narrow and the Corporation digging the road had further reduced the moveable space, rues R. Nagarajan, a resident.
The Corporation had dug the road more than a month ago as a part of the ₹ 442 crore project to provide underground drainage service to 14 wards that comprise the added areas Kurichi and Kuniamuthur.
Mr. Nagarajan said that after digging the road to build manholes and lay pipelines, the Corporation had suspended the work, forcing the residents to tip-toe on the narrow road. And, given the road width, the residents could only walk around and not take out their two-wheelers.
He also said that a couple of children who were playing on the street slipped and fell into the pit.
J. Daniel, a civil activist, said the Coimbatore Corporation had similarly suspended work on Kurumbar Street, Murugar Kovil Street and a couple of other areas and restored the roads only after the residents took up the issue with the officials concerned.
In this case, though it had been around 40 days and the residents had taken up the issue with the officials, the Corporation was yet to complete the work.
The residents were left with little choice but to protest if the Corporation further delayed the work, he added.
Sources in the civic body said the work was delayed because of the delay in the return of migrant labourers who had moved out during the lockdown period and added that the Corporation would restore the road at the earliest.