CHENNAI: Hundreds of residents in C Kalyanapuram, Vyasarpadi allege that sewage was mixing with drinking water and the sewers were choked ever since the underground drinking water pipelines were shifted to build the Vyasarpadi flyover in Sathya Moorthy Nagar.
Repeated complaints with Metrowater failed to lead to a solution to this problem, the locals lamented. The worst hit were C Kalyanapuram 5th and 6th Streets where sewage stagnated and residents had to wade through it.
“Ever since they began shifting the pipelines, sewage overflowed on these streets and into houses,” alleged A Anitha Raj of 5th Street.
On 6th Street, the problem was worse as the sewage inundated the front of a few houses. Most of the children and housewives were down with fever and also had been suffering from athlete’s foot.
“Water inundated the front of my house, and I have been having fever for the past two weeks. Medicines did not help. My children and I are forced to wade through this sewage,” said V Selvi, a housewife.
Metrowater cleared the sewage using machines when residents complained but the relief was short lived as the sewage would again spill out of manholes and fill the streets.
The problem is worse as the sewage often mixed with drinking water, forcing residents to depend on private drinking water suppliers.
“The pipe water stinks and is coloured. We are buying drinking water from private suppliers, who charge `30 a can. The Metrowater supplied by lorries charge `2 to `3 for a pot,” says Lakshmi, a resident, who voiced how a civic issue caused a financial loss on local families.