No respite for residents of Ashtalakshmi Nagar

CHENNAI: If you were someone who entered Ashtalakshmi Nagar in Alapakkam on Sunday, you would be forgiven if you thought ‘Thane’ was still centered in the Bay of Bengal and continued to dump torrential rain on the city. For, even a week after the storm wrecked havoc, residents in this newly annexed ward (147) of the Chennai Corporation are still wading through ankle-deep water. However, this water stagnation is not a one-off misery that the residents are facing. Clogged storm water drains that have been converted into sewerage networks illegally, roads that make you wonder if you would be better-off driving on the moon and utter apathy of the authorities who failed to visit the area after the rains, have made the lives of these people miserable.According to the residents, trouble began after civic authorities dug up the entire area for laying storm water pipes last year. Since then, roads have not been laid, making it almost impossible to navigate on these narrow streets which look like war-torn territories.“When the rain comes, the muddy roads turn slushy. So, many of us keep falling down and getting hurt,” said a resident who claimed he got his wrist fractured in November after his motorcycle skidded on the slush. Though roads feature at the top of their grievances list, residents said they are ready to put up with battered roads only if the water stagnation issues are resolved. “A slight drizzle and there is almost a deluge here. This problem is compounded by the fact that the water gets contaminated with sewage and is exposing us to health hazards,” said Mahalingam, retired Chief Manager of the State Bank of India. Thripurasundari, a doctor, said that despite buying a car recently, she had not been able to take it out because of the deplorable conditions of the road and the water stagnation. “No vendor comes to our street because of the roads. Whether it is buying vegetables or milk, we are forced to go fetch it ourselves from the corner of the street,” she said, adding that the third street, where the entire rain water flows into from other parts of the area, has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Maduravoyil MLA Bheema Rao, who attended a public meeting organised by the residents’ association on Sunday, said that the constant shuffling of officials in the local bodies was a major factor for repair works not being undertaken. “By the time one official gets ready to do the work, he is pushed out of the place. The other person takes his own time to assess the damage and this postpones repair works,” he said.Residents also complained that many street light poles were damaged in the cyclone but had not been fixed even after repeated requests.