THOOTHUKUDI: The DMK party is all set to elect its mayor for Thoothukudi corporation but the road ahead in the coastal city is anything but smooth. The city which sinks every monsoon, and is riddled with potholes, traffic congestion, pollution, and incomplete underground drainage facilities awaits a legislator to pull it back in shape.
The Thoothukudi corporation, located along the coast of the Gulf of Mannar and spread over 90.66 sq km, has been fast developing on the industrial front. The city is expanding westwards as new residential colonies are sprouting to accommodate the growing population. The drawback of the old city is the narrow roads and improper drainage facility. It relies on the Puckle canal built in 1880's to drain the waste water into the Gulf of Mannar.
Though the DMK government began the rejuvenation of the Puckle canal project during its tenure 2006-11, the projects were slowed down in the past 10 years. Activist Krishnamurthy told TNIE that the Coastal Regulation Zone Rules strictly prohibit dumping drain water into the sea directly, and mandates sewage treatment plants to reuse the water. However, still the Puckle canal carries the sewage into the sea at Trespuram, which is a huge violation, he added.
The condition of the city roads is no better. The main thoroughfare of the city such as the Palayamkottai road, Tamizh salai, VOC road, VE road, Bryant Nagar road, Anna Nagar road, Jeyaraj road, Krishnarajapuram road, Trespuram road, and other stretches remain damaged and non-motorable due to incomplete works of the smart city projects.
Edwin Samuel of Confederation of Industry (CII) told TNIE that the roads are pathetic because it has not been re-laid after the underground drainage works. The four phases of storm water drains being constructed under Smart cities mission have not yet been completed despite starting three years ago, says a resident Vasudevan. Meanwhile, civic officials say the city is below the Mean Sea Level(MSL), and the drainage are raised above the ground to ensure gravity flow towards the sea in the east.
"However, there is no study to prove the elevation of the city below MSL, and it was a lame excuse from the officials to deflect questions on recurring water stagnation despite several crores being spent on drainage schemes," say leaders of residential welfare associations.
During the monsoons, many roads were dug to evacuate water logged into the residential areas. However, the civic body did not attend to repair them properly, charges a civil engineer Henry Daniel. "At many places Wet Mix Macadam (WMM) have been put on damaged roads, but it was not watered properly and the tar was not laid upon them to ensure smooth traffic," Daniel said.
The poor road infra and the narrow stretches causes a huge traffic congestion in the city and thereby attributes to air pollution. As on March 31, 2018, Thoothukudi city had 7.66 lakh registered vehicles including 59,350 car/SUV/MUV and 6,75,113 two wheelers.
"The roads are being built without taking into account the increasing number of vehicles in the city, '' says a car driver who frequents the city from Tirunelveli often.
"The ruling government should take necessary steps to construct bridges wherever necessary to reduce the traffic congestion, says Sasikumar of Naam Tamilar Party. Even though the AIADMK party promised to construct a flyover at the VVD signal on the Thamizh salai in 2011, no steps were taken yet, Sasikumar added.
It may be noted that the Thoothukudi city is one of the most polluted cities with the centre declaring it as a non-attainment city due to the high level of PM10 emission. The action plan revised by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) said that traffic and road dust was a cause of pollution while emission from Thermal plants add SOx, NOx and particulate matter.
The TNPCB recommended constructing flyovers and bypass roads to ease the transportation so that dust can be reduced; increase traffic police to ensure smooth traffic flow at vulnerable areas; create more parking facilities in and around the city, and strengthen the roads inside the Thoothukudi city, to mitigate the pollution in the city.