Mangadu residents raise a stink as sewage ‘lake’ poses health hazard

CHENNAI:  Contaminated groundwater in Mangadu municipality is posing significant health risks for the residents. C Shanmugam (50), a resident of Kamakshi Amman Nagar in Mangadu said, “The water in our well is completely polluted and we can’t use it to wash clothes or utensils let alone for drinking purposes. People here are developing skin infections and hair loss due to groundwater contamination.”

Residents of Padmavathi Nagar and Ambal Nagar are facing similar issues. The reason for the groundwater pollution is a sewage lake abutting the localities. Mangadu is a prone to inundation. During the 2015 floods, as an emergency measure, flood water was diverted to a 20-acre land belonging to Kamakshi Amman temple, but slowly sewage from Poonamallee and other localities made its way into this through stormwater drains, said the residents.

S Jabarulla, vice-chairman, Mangadu municipality acknowledged that sewage flowing from upstream areas like Poonamallee via stormwater drains has polluted groundwater in the area. “The only solution is to build an underground sewage system. The State government has approved construction of underground sewage systems for Poonamallee, Mangadu and Thiruverkadu municipalities. Once the project is implemented, the problem will be solved.”

R Suma, Commissioner of Mangadu municipality said water pollution has been an issue for several years. After Mangadu was upgraded into a municipality, rapid development took place. “Under the flood mitigation project, `6.62 crore was sanctioned for construction of 3-km stormwater drains. This will make sure water doesn’t drain into the temple land. Tenders will be floated on May 31.”     

To evacuate stagnant water from Kamakshi Amman temple land, where a bus stand is proposed, a new culvert has been built. This will drain water into the Thanthi canal. However, locals said Thanthi canal drains into the Porur lake, which is a source of drinking water for the city.

Meanwhile, the State highways department is executing a stormwater drain project on Mangadu-Kundrathur main road, but local councillors said the design is faulty. At least 20 electricity poles are inside the drain and this would hamper free flow of water. 

Suma said the matter was taken up with the highways department. When contacted, assistant engineer Satish Kumar said the poles will be removed. “The work will be completed by June,” he said.