From the supply of drinking water once every 20 days to the menace of mosquitoes due to the culvert and storm water channel on the western side bordering Somayampalayam being blocked – residents of Edyarpalayam in Ward 35 decry the poor living conditions.
The resident alleged that Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) ward councilor N. Despite repeated requests to Sambath, no steps were taken to resolve the problems.
Prakash* (name changed) (65), a resident of Laxmi Nagar, said, “We got drinking water today [July 19] after 20 days. Earlier there used to be supply once in every two weeks. We cannot store water in big containers for fear of diseases. 24×7 water pipeline connections were laid by SUEZ in this ward, but the area is still supplied with drinking water through a tap close to the DMK office. My pregnant daughter has to carry heavy pots of water for almost a kilometer.”
According to the local people, the domestic breeding checkers had never visited Lakshmi Nagar in Edayarpalayam.
They also claimed that storm drains were not cleaned every week. Resident Narapavi (28) said that the channel running through the area is full of garbage. The channel is open without any wall or fence, which is unsafe, especially considering that there are a lot of children in Laxmi Nagar, Anna Street and Tyagi Purnaiah Street.
The channel joins a drain at Vadavalli and flows to the Krishnampati tank.
“The water in the channel remains stagnant both in the culverts adjacent to the field and in the channel,” said Mr. Prakash.
Ms. Narpavi also alleged that he stopped sending her to an anganwadi in the area because it was not maintained properly. “There are two centres, one near the temple and the other opposite the graveyard. In both these centres, children have to defecate in the open. All the children use the same vessel to drink water. If one falls ill, it spreads to all. My son often fell ill when he went to the Anganwadi. This needs immediate attention,” she said.
When the problems were informed to the Executive Engineer, Western Zone, C. Sundarraj, he said that the problems would be resolved immediately. With regard to water supply, he said that water supply was often interrupted due to repeated damage to pipes due to work on Thadgam Road. The work has been completed 10 days back and the supply will be regularised.
Councilor Sambath was not available for comment.