From drinking water supply once in every 20 days to mosquito menace due to choked culverts and stormwater channel on the edge of the West Zone bordering Somayampalayam — the residents of Edayarpalayam in Ward 35 decry poor living conditions.
Despite repeated requests made to the ward councillor, N. Sambath of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), no steps were taken to solve the problems, the resident alleged.
Prakash* (name changed) (65), a resident of Lakshmi Nagar, said, “We received drinking water today [July 19] after 20 days. Earlier, supply was once in every two weeks. We cannot store water in large cans owing to fear of diseases. The 24×7 water pipeline connections were laid by SUEZ in this ward, but drinking water is still supplied through a tap close to the DMK office in this area. My pregnant daughter has to carry heavy water pots for nearly a km.”
According to the locals, domestic breeding checkers had never visited Lakshmi Nagar in Edayarpalayam.
They also claimed that the stormwater drains are not cleaned every week. Narpavi (28), a resident, said that the channel running in the area was clogged with waste. The channel is open without a wall or fence, which is unsafe, especially considering there are many children in Lakshmi Nagar, Anna Street and Thyagi Poornaiya Street.
The channel connects to a drain in Vadavalli and flows down to the Krishnampathy Tank.
“The water in the channel remains stagnant both in the culverts and the channel, adjacent to the farmland,” Mr. Prakash said.
Ms. Narpavi also alleged that she stopped sending her to an anganwadi in the locality as it was not maintained properly. “There are two centres, one close to a temple and another opposite a graveyard. Children have to defecate in the open at both these centres. All children use the same utensils to drink water. If one falls sick, it spreads to everyone. My son used to fall ill often when he was going to the anganwadi. This needs immediate attention,” she said.
Executive Engineer of West Zone C. Sundarraj, when informed of the issues, said that the problems would be addressed immediately. Regarding the water supply, he said that due to frequent pipe damages owing to works on Thadagam road, water supply was disrupted often. Works were completed 10 days ago and the supply would be regularised.
Councillor Sambath was not available for comments.