The project envisions a total of 8,332 household connections in 33 wards of Krishnagiri Municipality. So far 950 connections have been given by the Municipality since the commissioning of the project.

Speaking to The Hindu , Kannan, Commissioner, Krishnagiri Municipality said, five teams from the region have been assigned to inspect the functioning of UGD lines, and check for blockages with the collection of sewage.

“There were cases of manhole deaths (asphyxiation) in recent times in the State. We want to avoid such incidents. Any repair works in UGD lines will be taken up solely by the Municipality,” Mr.Kannan said.

Each teams is equipped with safety gear including three oxygen masks, gloves, reflector jackets and are designated for inspection of manholes, said Mr. Kannan. Therefore, no sanitation workers are to be engaged, and no works shall be undertaken in sewer lines and manholes by engaging private septic tank cleaning services without permission from the Municipal Commissioner, the Municipality has said. There are a total of 1,627 manholes in the project. Of these, over 600 manholes have been inspected. Rest of 1,027 manholes are still to be inspected for blocks with the sewer lines going live.

Further, any construction on the sewer lines, or damage or replacement of sewerage vents is an offence, the Municipality has warned. The by-law of the underground drainage project and the damage to public property law shall be invoked against public that engage private workers to clear any block in the manhole. Further, public may contact the Municipality on 04343-232597; 232488 for inspection of manholes in their area.

The bad condition of the Manapparai - Veerappur highway has been posing a serious threat residents of Manapparai town. This is a vital link from Manapparai to Veerappur and a large number of school buses and college vans operate through this stretch which falls in the ward 27 of the Manapparai municipality.

According to Noordeen, a resident of Manapparai, the road links Karur district via Gujiliyamparai. It takes about 10 minutes to cross a distance of just 300 metres by two-wheeler or four-wheeler. A large number of buses and mini-buses are also being operated through this stretch.

According to municipal officials, a proposal has been drafted for re-laying the road to a length of about 5 km at an estimate of Rs. 90 lakh. Since the municipal funds were not adequate to meet this huge expenditure, a proposal has been drafted for getting the funds from special provisions, the source told The Hindu on Thursday night.