CHENNAI: Stagnation of sewage alongside busy roads in north Chennai has turned the places into hot spots for breeding mosquitoes. The Ennore High Road near Tiruvottiyur, Buckingham Canal Road in Tondiarpet, Kodungaiyur-bound Tondiarpet Road, and Vyasarpadi have been bearing the brunt of massive sewage puddles for several days.
Although the city corporation has identified around 30 breeding spots in each of these areas, the stagnation of sewage on the road remains a major concern. On a field visit, Express spotted hundreds of mosquitoes breeding in a puddle near Tiruvottiyur on the Ennore High Road.
The residents of the area allege that the sewage is being let out from the nearby restaurants and that it has been happening for several months. “Evenings are the most impossible times to wait for buses as these puddles are right next to the bus stand,’’ said Rajesh G, a Tiruvottiyur resident.
These kind of pools are very common near bus stands even on Cemetery Road and Mint Street. “As manholes are clogged, many small companies and even houses let out the waste on the roads overnight and it remains there for days,’’ Gomathi G, another resident, said.
North Chennai remains very vulnerable to diseases as well. Around 400 dengue cases were reported in the city in December last year, of which, nearly 80 were reported from Tondiarpet, Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar. Many residents fear further illnesses due to these swamps.
“Corporation staff check on water containers inside our houses, but do they attend to water stagnation in the open?’’ questioned Mallikarjunan R, a resident of Washermenpet. Therefore, the onus to remove stagnation in the open, falls on the sewerage board. A CMWSSB official said that they will act on open stagnation immediately, only if any complaints are received.
The official added that these areas are heavily dependent on metro water tankers and they end up storing it in pots and drums. “This, apart from swamps and stagnation puts people in this region at risk,’’ he added. Meanwhile, the city corporation had collected a fine of `32 lakh, in 2019, from the owners of houses and buildings where mosquitoes were “being bred”.