NAGAPATTINAM: Two years have passed since the Naapattinam municipality sent a proposal to the directorate of municipal administration seeking approval and allocation of funds for a Rs 32 crore project to create basic infrastructure such as a drainage system in New Nambiyar Nagar and other localities.
With the government not clearing the proposal yet, the residents continue to face hardship during monsoon. Dinesh (name changed), a 28-year-old daily wage earner living in the tsunami rehabilitation settlement in New Nambiyar Nagar, routinely scoops waste from the overflowing septic tank in his backyard, carries it in a bucket for nearly half a kilometre, and empties it into a drainage canal.
He followed the same routine on Saturday as heavy rain caused water stagnation and sewage influx in his neighbourhood. This is also the rountine for the 40 families in the area, who are mostly Dalits. Although the residents live in individual houses built by NGOs after the 2004 tsunami, the locality lacks a functional underground drainage system.
NGOs had installed soak pits for each house and linked them to an underground pumping station and drainage line connecting to a nearby canal. Over time, the pumping station deteriorated, leading to overflow during monsoon. Each year, sewage mixed with rainwater enters homes.
"Last year, our houses were flooded as there was no way for the water to drain, and this year it is the same," said Vinodhini P, another resident, adding that toilets overflowed and waste entered their living space.
Vinodhini also said the patches of her tsunami quarters house ceiling fell and rainwater leaked in through the ceilings in other houses. "We don't feel safe to stay inside anymore as a small patch of ceiling has fallen, the patch fell just beside my toddler where she was lying. My family shifted to the neighbour's house on Saturday to sleep," said Vinodhini.
Residents also reported exposure to health risks including skin infection, diarrhoea and fever due to the sewage issue. The situation mirrors that of other people living in North Nalliyan Thottam and South Nalliyan Thottam, Alavukaran Thottam in Nagore, and Samanthanpettai, where basic facilities are lacking.
Ahead of the monsoon, Nagapattinam Municipality tried to address the issue and found the pumping station damaged. Officials said repairs could not proceed because the NGO-laid UGD line runs beneath private properties, whose owners objected to excavation.
To address the wider infrastructural gaps, including stormwater drains, a new drainage line for houses connected to the faulty pumping station, and laying cement roads in New Nambiyar Nagar and other vulnerable areas, the municipality submitted a Rs 32 crore proposal to the Directorate of Municipal Administration nearly two years ago, said official sources.
The proposal, which also covers North and South Nalliyan Thottam, Alavukaran Thottam and Samanthanpettai, is yet to receive approval and sanction. Officials said the project, if sanctioned, would resolve most of the long-standing issues in these neighbourhoods.