The Hindu                09.10.2013

Illegal sewers pollute waterways

As many as 1,323 illegal sewer connections that pollute
waterways have been reported from the seven zones within the old city
limits.

This is roughly one per cent of the total
number of such connections, which the Chennai Corporation expects to
have on record in a month. Sewage from these lines makes it to the
waterways directly — or indirectly, through stormwater drains.

The
identification drive, which began on Monday, brings under the scanner
commercial and residential establishments suspected to cause such
pollution.

At 320, Teynampet tops the list of zones
with illegal sewer connections. At 55, Kodambakkam has reported the
lowest number of such connections.

The picture may be different when all the 107 wards in the seven zones are through with the identification exercise.

Last
week, the Corporation commissioner sent a circular to these zones
asking them to commence a ward-level survey of illegal sewer
connections. Following this, junior engineers and assistant engineers
were assigned this task.

“Most of the sewage in our
ward flows through stormwater drains. Existing sewage pumping station
capacity is low. Work is under way in areas such as Valluvar Kottam.

A
new pumping station has been proposed on Sterling Road. The officials
should focus more on commercial establishments,” said K. Chandrasekaran,
a councillor in Nungambakkam.

At a recent meeting,
the civic body handed over the available list to Metrowater which has
begun the work of providing sewer connections to these buildings after
collecting the required fee.

Failure to cooperate with Metrowater will cost commercial establishments their trade licences.

After
plugging the illegal sewer connections, officials will seal the
premises of these buildings and impose the existing fine of Rs. 500 on
the owners. With this amount too measly to act as a deterrent, the
Chennai Corporation has requested the State government to increase it to
Rs. 10,000. 

The State government is expected to
spend Rs. 10,000 crore over a period of 10 years to clean the Adyar,
Cooum and Buckingham Canal. The rehabilitation programme will include
creation of a sewage treatment system that will prevent sewage from
ending up in the waterways.

Slums along waterways to be relocated

At
least 12,000 of the families are expected to be resettled in
Perumbakkam and Okkiyam-Thoraipakkam, where over 12,000 houses measuring
over 400 sq. ft. will be completed in a month.

“We
have given a list of 3,000 encroachments on micro drains to the Tamil
Nadu Slum Clearance Board,” said an official of the Chennai Corporation.
Resettlement is likely to begin in December. The resettlement may
bother students who are studying in schools in the city.

Reconstruction
of over 2,500 tenements in areas such as Ayodhya Kuppam, Lock Nagar,
Parthasarathy Nagar and Kotturpuram is also expected to affect students
whose families may be displaced.