Corporation Removes Silt
Silt being removed from the storm water drain along Brooke Bond Road in the city on Monday. The Coimbatore Corporation’s efforts to remove silt from some storm water drains in the city on Monday yielded a haul of an assortment of waste. Garbage, plastic items, mud and debris choked the drains. Silt and waste removed from a drain lay in a huge heap along Brooke Bond Road, pointing at the mammoth task that lay ahead for the Corporation before the onset of the South West Monsoon in June. “If people continue to dump waste into the storm water drains, flooding of city roads cannot be prevented,” Mayor R. Venkatachalam lamented. “We removed silt only six months ago. We are forced to do it again now because of the drains getting choked quickly by the dumping of waste and also accumulation of silt,” he said.
The Mayor said the Corporation was removing the silt at an outlay of Rs.50 lakh from the drains on D.B. Road to the one near Royal Theatre on Big Bazaar Street. Fortunately, these works could be done now only because the allocation was made and work orders issued three to four months before the announcement of elections. The drains at Kamakshipuram, near Singanallur and on Kamarajar Road, near K.K. Pudur would also be rid of silt and garbage as part of the ongoing works, the Mayor said.
But, the rest of the city, where the problem was widespread, would have to wait till the Lok Sabha elections were over. Pointing out that fresh works could not be taken up or estimates drawn up after the announcement of elections, the Mayor said the aim was to ensure that choked storm water drains did not lead to flooding of city roads. “We need to have all the storm water drains in good condition before the monsoon sets in,” he said.
But, the Corporation’s efforts to remove silt and garbage was not enough to providing a lasting solution. “People must cooperate. They must not throw plastic carry bags full of garbage into the drains. They should either hand it over to the conservancy workers or put it into the bins on the roads. Storm water drains are not garbage disposal points,” he said. By throwing garbage into the drains, the public themselves caused the stagnation that served as good breeding ground for mosquitoes. They then complained of mosquito menace in their areas and blamed the Corporation for inadequate measures to combat it. Half the problem would be solved if people desisted from abusing the drains, Mr. Venkatachalam said.
The Mayor also said that some residential colonies were disciplined in disposing of garbage. He pointed out that in colonies covered the Alagana Kovai programme of the Residents’ Awareness Association of Coimbatore, people had been sensitised to the point of refraining from dumping garbage into the drains or along the roads. Areas in Peelamedu and K.G. Layout and Ramalingam Nagar in Saibaba Colony were some examples.
