CHENNAI: Residents of Kagithapuram and adjoining areas at S Kolathur have been complaining of nausea, headache and fever for the past two days as large amounts of raw sewage is being dumped into Keelkatalai lake’s surplus channel near their homes.
They alleged that untreated sewage from Pallavaram pumping station, which is supposed to go to treatment plant at Perungudi, is being dumped into nearby lakes.
Keelkalatai lake and Narayanapuram Eri are mainly affected because of this and finally the sewage drains into Pallikaranai marshland too, residents said.
“Whenever there is a leak or a major repair in the main pipe, municipality officials divert all sewage into Keelkatalai lake surplus channel. This happens mainly because there is no back up plan in place. This has been happening ever since the pumping station was built in 2006,” said Sankar S of Kagithapuram.
Before the pumping station was built along the 200 ft Radial Road, a group of residents had filed a case in Madras High Court asking for it to be built elsewhere, away from the lakes. They feared that untreated waste would pollute the nearby water bodies. The project was later stalled for five years and was given permission later after an expert team from IIT-M made a survey.
Sankar said since Sunday the surplus channel was filled with raw sewage. Fecal matter could be seen on the surface. Many residents from areas like 11th Street, Kagithapuram, Bhagyalakshmi Nagar, LIC Nagar, Engineers Avenue at S Kolathur and parts of Keelkatalai, including Kasivisalatchipuram, Senthil Nagar and Bhoopathi Nagar through which the canal passes, have fallen ill.
“My son is recovering from typhoid. But he fell sick again two days ago because of our unclean surroundings. My neighbours complained of headache and nausea too. Breeding of mosquitoes have also gone up a lot,” said Arulanandaraj, a resident of 11th street. Other than health ailments, residents fear groundwater contamination too. Raw sewage are also being illegally let into storm water drain that finally empties into Keelkatalai lake.
A sanitary inspector from the municipality said they were not aware of the issue and will inspect the areas by Friday. Another official denied the above allegations of residents and said this was a ploy to defame the government. “We have a system well through which sewage will be sent to the STP in case of a leak in the pipe. Not one drop of sewage is let into any water body. These residents are angry that a pumping station is near their houses. These are baseless allegations,” he said. However, when Express visited the spot on Wednesday morning, the pipe was closed. Due to heavy rain on Tuesday night, most of the sewage had been washed away. Residents say this is only a temporary step, initiated on Wednesday after they complained to the authorities.