Frequent sewer repairs leave roads in disarray
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Roads remain dug up for months, especially in areas such as Perambur, Nungambakkam, Medavakkam, and Sholinganallur, often without prior notice.
Residents complain that repeated excavations by different departments — Metrowater for sewer lines, Tangedco for underground cables, and GCC for stormwater drains — have turned many roads unmotorable. Lack of inter-agency coordination has made matters worse, residents say.
At Nungambakkam, Metrowater work on 2nd and 5th Streets was abandoned midway, and debris was used to close trenches. A Srinivasan, a resident, said this left the roads in a dangerous state for more than a year. Recently, a second round of digging caused power outages after electricity lines were damaged.
On Perambur's Paper Mills Road, civic activist S Arulmozhi said that the road was dug up a year ago and patched poorly, only to be reopened again last week.
Several other key roads in north Chennai, including Madhavaram High Road and Medavakkam Tank Road, are facing similar disruptions.
Residents of Chinnaiyan New Colony said that freshly relaid roads were dug up again under the North Chennai Development Scheme. "Why wasn't the relaying postponed until all UGSS work was done?" asked C Raghukumar, a resident of Perambur.
At Sholinganallur, resident D Palani said stormwater drain and sewage work damaged existing water lines, leading to acute supply shortages.
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"Workers appear only once or twice a week," he said.
A Metrowater official said that 1,329 of the 3,900 streets involve multiple utility works, leading to delays. He said that sewage and drainage systems are designed to last 50 years, and hence multiple inspections are mandatory before road relaying begins.
Officials said No Objection Certificates (NOCs) are awaited from various departments and coordination meetings are being held weekly. In severely affected areas such as north Chennai, water tankers are being sent.
Metrowater managing director T G Vinay said UGSS work will continue till Sept and pause during the monsoon. All road cuts, he added, will be repaired before the rains begin.
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