more-in Ward 92, one of the newly-added wards of Madurai Corporation, struggles to deal with daily drain blockages. Several residents of this ward say that they have repeatedly complained to authorities of the civic body for over a year now. They have only been rewarded with unsatisfactory responses. Children are often seen walking barefoot over puddles of slush. Twelve-year-old A. Kannan says that the drain in a road opposite his house on Meenambigai Nagar often overflows. He enjoys watching the green slime, but hates the stench. His mother A. Jayanthi admonishes him and says that it will be of great help if the corporation officials build pavements for students to walk home safely. “The ultimate solution is to ensure that the drainage system is functional but that is not happening despite our protest,” she says. The ward, with Kovalan Nagar as the main area, has 70 streets. Areas with the highest population include Thendral Nagar, Angayarkanni Street, Jeeva Nagar and Meenambigai Nagar. The total number of houses is currently 6,000. Former councillor K. Murugesan says that the pumping station for the ward is located in T. V. S. Nagar. The station was first established in 1962 by TVS Motor Company as part of an initiative to create houses for its employees. Initially, 750 houses with underground drainage (UGD) were connected to the pumping station.“But the number of houses under the scheme is much higher now. The pump is not able to handle the increased sewage input,” he said. Assistant Engineer of the ward M. Balamurugan says that arrangements are being made to double the pump capacity. “Currently, it is 20 HP. Due to population explosion, we are making arrangements to make it 40 HP. If this is complete, the drains will not be blocked. The drainage flow to the station happens twice a day-- during the morning and evening --, particularly during peak hours,” he says. Twenty five houses which were releasing their waste water into the Kiruthumal running through the area were issued notices. “Until the UGD lines are fixed, their connections will be cut,” he says while explaining the presence of sewage in the canal. Bad roads The woes of the ward do not end there. Roads are poorly laid. A disputed 50 feet road connecting Meenambigai Nagar Main Road and T. V. S. Nagar is dilapidated. No effort to lay tar, concrete or paver blocks has been made. Corporation officials say that the area is work-in-progress but residents like R. Elangovan say that the pothole-filled road serves no purpose. He says that roads were last laid about two years back. No patch work has been taken up and several speed breakers have been placed in a haphazard fashion, he adds. The former councillor, however, says that over ? 3.3 crore had been spent on rectifying road problems alone. A clear disparity was witnessed in laying of roads. The main roads and cross streets had been poorly laid. Roads in areas like Ankayarkanni Street, however, have paver blocks and are evenly laid. Residents also complain about conservancy workers not clearing garbage on a daily basis. P. Sarathy Saravanan, owner of a papad company, is particularly miffed at this. “The garbage truck comes once in three or four days. They saunter in at about 10 a.m. By that time, residents already finish emptying their bins in the Kiruthumal,” says the resident of Thevar Nagar. A corporation health department source told The Hindu that there was an acute shortage of conservancy workers in the area. He also said that fogging to prevent vector-bone diseases was done for only about three times a month. The area does not have a government school, a community hall, a library or an Urban Primary Health Care Centre. However, there are several private schools and an integrated toilet complex. The area also possesses an anganwadi and balwadi.

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