COIMBATORE: The Gudalur municipality in Coimbatore district constructed a drainage canal at Samichettipalayam village for Rs 44.7 lakh, only to bury it with a concrete mixture within a few days after facing strong criticism from residents. In Jayavarthanavelu Nagar at Vijayalakshmi Nagar, a neighbouring locality, a drainage channel built a month ago with separate funding to serve the entire area has been left without an outlet.
Residents of both areas allege that the municipality spent large amounts on drainage canals in these areas. But all were built without proper measurements, leading to stagnation of sewage. Unable to resolve the problem, the canal at Samichettipalayam was completely closed within a week, and another has been left non-functional. Residents who raised the issue with the government have demanded a detailed inquiry into the alleged misuse of public funds.
“Before the elections, they had planned to build roadside drainage canals along the roads to collect and carry away wastewater from houses at Vijayalakshmi Nagar. The work did not happen because the Assembly elections began. As soon as the elections were over, they started the work in a hurry without any planning. Only after completing the canals in all areas did the confusion come up about where to divert the sewage. Since no solution was found, they just stopped the work,” said R Govindhasamy, a resident.
“Sewage from all houses flows towards the park site. During rainy season, if water overflows, all houses there will be submerged. We need to immediately find a way to create an outlet to take the water out,” he added. The issues were confirmed by TNIE during a visit on Sunday. On Samichettipalayam East Street (Ward 13), where the canal was buried with a concrete mixture, the municipality spent `44.70 lakh. In Vijayalakshmi Nagar (Ward 12), the drainage canal was built for the benefit of around 60 houses was left abandoned.
Due to the absence of an outlet, people have not been using the canal, and it remains a showpiece. The channel is filled with sewage, and residents have blocked the flow by placing sandbags in it. In many houses, people have set up separate soak pits beyond the newly-built sewage channels.
“We did not allow the municipality to extend the work to other streets, and demanded a solution for the existing issues.
After we flagged it, the local body started sending vehicles to suck out the stored sewage from every house. That is not a permanent solution, and we have lost hope in the municipality,” said a woman resident, requesting anonymity. A Arivarasu, chairman of the Gudalur Municipality, was unavailable for comments. Meanwhile, the TVK’s Gudalur area secretary, Sathyakumar, took the issue to the knowledge of Mettupalayam TVK MLA Sunil Anand.