மெட்ரோ வாட்டர்

CHENNAI: For a few hours each day for the past seven years, the residents of MGR Nagar have been witness to a sore sight. Untreated sewage, first
in a trickle and later in a rush and allegedly from a faulty pipeline, has been flowing into the MGR Nagar canal near KK Nagar. And, residents allege, the Chennai Metrowater Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) or Metrowater has done nothing.

The canal, a carrier of flood water, has been providing relief to areas like MGR Nagar, Nesapakkam and K K Nagar for decades. "It appears that a Metrowater pipeline, which takes untreated sewage from the pumping station in nearby Bharathidasan Colony to the one in MGR Nagar and which runs close to the canal, is faulty. Sewage from this is damaging the entire water network," C Kandavelu, a resident, told TOI. Compounding the problem, a corporation public toilet abutting the canal lets out waste into the canal, reportedly because it does not have a proper disposal system.

About 0.6 million litres of sewage, according to official records, flows through the pipeline a day. Now, an entire canal is under threat. The Adyar river flows close to the canal. "If the government agencies themselves become offenders, to whom will the public complain?" says Neela of Bharathidasan Main Road.

On Wednesday, social activist V Gopalakrishnan had a chance to check the pumping station after he shot off an RTI application seeking details about the reported lapses. But the officials, he said, failed to provide even a route map of the pipelines going out of the pumping station. "We suspect some foul play. Why else will they hide the facts? If the pipelines are close to the canal, there is every possibility of sewage flowing in," Gopalakrishnan adds.

Also, heavy vegetation and mounds of garbage in the canal block the free flow of sewage, leading to high larval density. Residents have been forced to use various repellants as protection from mosquitoes. "No contestant for the upcoming elections has expressed concern about the state of the MGR Nagar canal. It is high time the authorities concerned woke up and acted," said M Leeladevi of Pammal Nallathambi Street, MGR Nagar.

The CMWSSB's Saidapet zone officials, on the other hand, denied any such let-out of sewage. "There is a possibility of sewage flowing out if a pipeline bursts but that hasn't happened," a senior official said. He added that a person had been deployed to look into the issue.