Ward 74 of the Coimbatore Corporation that extends from G.M. Nagar in the west to Bharathi Nagar, near Olympus Junction in the east, and from Sungam Chinthamani in the north to the railway track in the south is one of the thickly populated wards in the city with over 22,000 residents.
It is also one of the biggest wards in terms of area with mostly middle and lower middle income groups, says councillor R. Ekambaram. Water, street lights, lack of underground drainage facility are among the major problems the residents face.
The residents say that they get water only once in 10 days or so. Karunanidhi Nagar resident Ramla Bi says that the once-in-10-day water supply is insufficient and bad.
But what is worse is that the quantity supplied too is inadequate because the pressure with which the water flows is too low.
Mr. Ekambaram says that the ward gets water from the Puliakulam, Town Hall and Gandhi Park tanks and there are issues that he is trying to address.
In areas west of the ward, particularly Sri Nagar and Sivaram Nagar, lack of street lights are cause for concern for the residents. The residents say that there are many poles without street lights. The lack of light makes the locality unsafe for women in the evening hours and there have been chain snatching incidents, says resident A. Francis of Sri Nagar.
Mr. Ekambaram says that he has taken steps to have more lights installed and also repair faulty fittings.
From above the ground to underground – many residential areas lack underground drainage system. The residents say that the corporation did many surveys but never implemented the work citing gradient problems to convey the sewage.
The councillor says that as many areas were low lying compared to the Trichy Road and sewer from those areas could not be linked with the main sewer line on the Trichy Road, the corporation found it unfeasible to implement the project, he explains.
Ward resident Meganathan says that the corporation should lay underground sewers and try linking those with the main line near Nanjundapuram as the gradient slopes towards the east.
Another issue that concerns the residents is the poor condition of the Bharathi Nagar Main Road. Resident N. Vasanthamani says that the corporation should at once relay the road that has been in such a bad shape for over 10 months now.
They also want the corporation to improve the upkeep of parks in the area, particularly the one in Arumugam Nagar.
