Rain havoc: Sewage, rainwater mingle in Coimbatore

The DC team took a ride around the city for a "ground reality" check. And, indeed, the street scenes were pathetic with sewage flowing along with rainwater, exposing once again the ineptness of the corporation.

It was a busy Monday morning and residents of Avarampalayam, hurrying to work and schools, had to wade through puddles of sewage.

"Whenever there are rains, our cup of woes overflows. Sewage flows on the streets and I have to spend my money to clear the drainge water in front of my shop," rued Joseph, a fancy store owner in New Siddhapudhur on Avarampalayam road.

The ugly picture of stench and stagnation repeats at Texttool-Balasundaram street, Khamadenu Nagar, Aliyar street, K.R. Puram, Kamaraj Nagar and several other streets in Avarampalayam which fall under corporation ward No. 40.

This time, the scene looks much worse in Avarampalayam, because the corporation officials have dug up the roads for underground drainage water (UGD). The sewage lines have been laid but they are yet to connect the UGD with the pipeline and the work has been pending for a long time, say the residents of Avarampalayam.

"It is a dirt track for motorists for the last 15 days," states Prabhu, owner of Blue Rainwater service in Khamadhenu Nagar in Avarampalayam. A 55-year-old daily wage labourer, Boaz, has decided not to wait for the corporation staff to repair the damage. He was seen dumping mud and levelling the damaged road in Khamadhenu Nagar.

"The ward councillor does not turn up even when we face the worst civic crisis," laments A. Murugan ,a small-scale entrepreneur from Khamadhenu Nagar. The owners and workers of small-scale industrial units and workers in Khamadhenu Nagar are pooling in money to repair the damaged roads.

When contacted, ward councillor R. Mallika said an emergency meeting has been convened at the zonal office to carry out road repair works.

"Within a short span of time, the roads will be re-laid and levelled properly," she assured. Elsewhere in the city, several parts of Kauvandampalayam are streaked with slushy patches and stagnant pools.

"Rubbish dumped on roadside have not been cleared for many days. Besides, rain has left the roads slushy and risky for motorists to ride," complained Chandrakumar, a resident of P&T Colony.

The four reservoirs, Sholayar, Parambikulam, Aliyar and Amaravathi, have been receiving surplus water due to the rains. "These dams are likely to overflow if the rains continue in the catchment areas. Water levels did come down by a

few feet on Monday after there was a brief break in the rains," said a public works department official.

The Sholayar dam, receiving surplus water due to the rains, has reached 158.72 feet, just about one foot short of the full reservoir level of 160 ft.

Similarly, the Aliyar dam is less than a foot away from reaching its full reservoir level. The storage in the dam has surged to 119.70 ft, as against its full reservoir level of 120 ft.

The Amaravathy dam, too, reached 85.26 feet, as against its full capacity of 90 ft. The Parambikulam dam has reached 71.96 feet - 72 feet being its full capacity - and the reservoir continues to receive copious rainfall.

While all the dams have almost reached full reservoir level, storage has improved in moderate terms at Thirumurthi dam. Its storage stood at 40.60 ft, as against its full capacity of 60 ft.

Pollachi received the maximum amount of rain in the last 24 hours ended 8 am on Sunday. It received 58 mm rain, while the entire district received a total of 288.20 mm of rain in the same corresponding period.

Next to Pollachi, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University premises received 45.20 mm of rain, while Mettupalayam received 45 mm of rain.

Other areas, like Coimbatore South, received 39 mm, Peelamedu airport, 27.80 mm, Chinnakallar, 19 mm, Valparai taluk office, 14 mm, Cincona, 12 mm, Sulur, 10.20 mm, Valparai PAP, 7 mm, and Annur, 6 mm, according to the rainfall report issued by the revenue administration.