CHENNAI: A steady flow of untreated sewage can be seen mixing into the Adyar River at Saidapet underneath the Maraimalai Adigal Bridge. Though the source of the discharge couldn’t be identified, activists allege that pumping stations belonging to Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board located nearby let out untreated sewage into water bodies when there is an overflow.
When Express contacted Metro Water officials, they denied the presence of any illegal pipe connections that let raw sewage into the Adyar River.Residents said that this has been happening for over three months now and that the problem has not been checked even after repeated complaints to Metro Water officials. “When I noticed this, I went under the bridge to get a closer look of the discharge. The blackish grey water had foamy white froth on the surface and was emanating a foul smell. This was how I confirmed that it was untreated sewage,” said K Chandru, a resident of Balaji Nagar in Saidapet.
In March 2018, a team of 15 members from anti-corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam identified locations where such similar activities were taking place during one of their social audits, in which Saidapet was one such location. “During the audit, we visited the Maraimalai Bridge once at midnight and once early in the morning. We observed that the flow of the discharge was much higher during the night,” said Kanchan Asrani, a member of the NGO, who headed the audit.
“Treated sewage will be let out into water bodies only near sewage treatment plants. But in Saidapet there is no such plant. And also we conducted the audit during the non-rainy season, so this discharge wasn’t rainwater coming through stormwater drains either,” she said.
CR Balaji, a civic activist who frequents the spot, said sewer manholes could have been connected to stormwater drains and that is directly let into the river. “Similar incidents have been found in Burma Nagar and MGR Nagar in KK Nagar. Whenever pumping stations overflow, raw sewage is let into nearby water bodies to decrease pressure. In Kotturpuram, a few locals showed us sewage coming from stormwater drains leaking into the Buckingham Canal,” he added.
Metro Water officials said that they had visited the spot yesterday but couldn’t ascertain the source of the discharge. “Though there are three pumping stations in ward 171, there are no pipe connections to the Adyar River. We will visit the location again and find the source to stop the discharge as soon as possible,” said the official.
Previous audits
In March 2018, a team of 15 members from anti-corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam identified locations where such similar activities were taking place during one of their social audits