CHENNAI: Pushed to the corner due to severe inundation and water leakage woes following the rains, residents relocated to the Perumbakkam Slum Board tenements have now been forced to install buckets beneath the ceiling to prevent water leaking into the elevator.
The residents of the tenements had been relocated from different slums across Chennai to Perumbakkam, 25 kilometres from the city, as the authorities took up water body restoration projects.
The residents of M Block in the tenements said that for the past week, water has been leaking into the elevator through its motor room from the terrace, due to heavy rains.
“We complained to officials as people found it hard to use the elevator but it has not been fixed. So we went to the terrace and installed buckets in the motor room to hold the leaking water,” said Rajan, a resident of M Block.
He said that the water continuously kept leaking into the elevator set up in the seven-storied building. “It is dangerous for water to leak in the elevator as it works on high-voltage electricity. What if something happens to people using it,” he questioned.
The residents said they have been mopping up the water from the elevator by themselves and kept it as dry as possible so they could use it. Vasanth, another resident from the block, said since this is a seven storied building, it’s hard without an elevator.
“Many elderly people too use the elevator daily so officials must ensure there’s no water leak there,” he said.
Residents also said there has been severe water seepage inside the houses from the elevator room. “The water seeps from the elevator room to the houses. Water has seeped in from the seventh floor to ground floor houses as well,” said Rajan.
He said there are no adequate drainage facilities in the terrace resulting in water staying stagnant. “Thus it seeps through the walls,” he said.
The New Indian Express spoke to Slum Board officials and shared the photos with them. They said they would visit the spot immediately.
The Perumbakkam area, where several thousands of families were relocated, has been facing severe inundation over the past week with knee-deep water.