A clogged open stormwater drain along a five-decade-old cemetery on Chennai-Tiruvallur High (CTH) Road in Thirumullaivoyal puts motorists to a certain degree of discomfort. During rain, rainwater from the drains overflows onto the road. Almost always, the rainwater is mixed with sewage. The drain has to let excess rainwater flow into the Ambattur lake. But it is choked with garbage and clogged due to illegal discharge of sewage by some residents. At present, Thirumullaivoyal and Annanoor, which comes under Avadi Municipality limits, do not have an underground drainage system. Residents say having the entire drain desilted will offer a permanent solution to this problem. A few weeks ago, the State Highways Department, which maintains CTH Road, drained the sewage-mixed rainwater from the drain and clear the clogs. However, the problem of overflowing sewage-rainwater continues. “With sewage overflowing at a narrow bend, near a pedestrian-crossing, many motorists have skidded on the slippery stretch, despite driving slowly. Moreover, pedestrians face the rick of getting hit by vehicles. At night, due to poor illumination, neither the slippery stretch nor pedestrians’ movement is visible. In addition, the road witnesses heavy traffic congestion between Thirumullaivoyal and Ambatur, whenever sewage overflows on to the road,” says K. Shanmugam, a resident of Thirumullaivoyal. The stormwater drain connects most of the streets in Thirumullavoyal including Venketachalam Nagar, Kamalam Nagar and Masilamanieshwar Nagar with a slew of culverts to discharge excess rainwater from these residential areas to Ambattur lake. More importantly, the narrow drain is the key water channel to drain excess rainwater from Puzhal lake into Ambattur lake. Despite its significance, the old narrow stormwater drain has not been widened to carry more rainwater. “Steps will be taken to desilt the drain, prevent dumping of garbage and to arrest discharge of sewage into the drain,” says a State Highways official.

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