CHENNAI: Reeking sewage water runs in the open and week-old garbage is strewn almost in all corners of the village. Toilets? No, the men and women there largely open-defecate as adequate toilet facilities are lacking. This is the story of Urur Olcott Kuppam, a small fishing village in Besant Nagar located just adjacent to the popular Dindugal Thalapakatti Biriyani.
Although it falls in the same ward (13) as Besant Nagar, the disparity between the two localities are stark. The government authorities have left the village in neglect, say the residents.
‘‘The underground pipelines set up three months ago, have not been given connections yet. So sewage continues to run in the open,’’ says Valarmathi S (36), a resident of the village. The sewage sludge stagnates and turns into cesspools, leading to mosquitoes breeding in the evening, she added.‘‘The corporation keeps Besant Nagar spick and span as VVIPs live there. But here, nobody even comes to collect garbage,’’ said Valarmathi.
Olcott Kuppam is a century-old fishing village while Besant Nagar came into existence only 50 years ago. The kuppam shot to prominence four years ago when ‘Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha’ took place in the village. However, the village still suffers on the ground as civic amenities and government schemes fail to reach it.
Another resident Murali V (43), says corporation authorities come to the village only once a week to collect garbage and as a result of that, garbage piles up.‘‘Door-to-door garbage collection will remain a dream for us,’’ he says.
There is only one corporation toilet in the centre of the village, although not in a good condition.‘‘The dysfunctional pipes lead to toilets clogging. Moreover, since it is a pay-and-use-toilet, people defecate in the ‘maidanam’ (open ground) near Broken Bridge,’’ adds Murali.
‘‘There is insufficient money to maintain the toilet as nobody uses it,’’ said Minnalkodi M (45), who maintains the corporation toilet and lives inside a small room in the toilet compound. The daily collection is hardly `50 to `60 and with that, there is no money to buy bleaching powder, brooms and other items," she added.
For the past decade, the 1000 residents of Urur Olcott Kuppam have made demands to the corporation to make the village, 100 per cent open-defecation free and also set up underground sewage pipelines for all houses. But their voices seem to have fallen to deaf ears.
‘‘We have, so far, not received any financial incentives under Swachh Bharat scheme to build toilets,’’ said Murali.
When contacted, a metro water official told Express that trial runs to make the sewage lines operational are being conducted. ‘‘The work is happening in a quick pace. In a week, sewage lines will be functional,’’ an official said.
Similarly, corporation officials told Express that the overflowing garbage will be cleared immediately and more bins will be set up to stop garbage excess."We will ensure garbage collection happens every day in the village,'' said the official.