Demolition Of Building Left Debris
More than 10 families living on 7th Cross Street of Anna Nagar at Peelamedu are a harried lot. The demolition of a building has left debris all over the place, not sparing even the storm water drain into which sewage is also discharged. As there is no net around the demolition site now, dust rises from the debris when it hits the ground and enters the houses on the street. The residents agree that the demolition could not have been stopped. But they point out that some measures should have been taken to minimise inconvenience to the residents. “We have to wash our gates every day. There is a thick cover of dust on our compound. To prevent this situation inside the house, we are forced to keep our doors and windows shut,” says P. Jayaraman, a resident.
T. Elangovan, another resident, says the accumulation of debris has aggravated the problem. “Dust from this causes problems. Our complaints to the Coimbatore Corporation have not resulted in the desired action from the civic body,” he says. The residents had to pay some money to the conservancy workers of the Corporation, who clear only garbage, to remove the debris also. “But, not all the debris has been removed,” he says. Only the ground floor has to be demolished and this points out how long the residents have been enduring the problem, says Mr. Elangovan. “A foul smell comes from stagnant waste water in the storm water drain. There is no way the water can flow out of the colony because debris chokes the drainage,” he says.
Mr. Jayaraman explains that waste water from a couple of colonies away from the 7th Cross Street flows in this canal. Now, the flow ends at this street because of the debris. And, this leads to waste water overflowing on the road. If the water stagnates, it serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes. “Apart from dust, we need to keep the mosquitoes also away.” The residents accuse the contractor in charge of the demolition of not understanding their problems. “Our complaints are ignored,” says Mr. Jayaraman.
Official sources in the Corporation say that the permission of the civic body should be obtained for demolition. When the process begins, a net should be put around the premises to check the spread of dust. Every measure possible should be taken to prevent inconvenience to the people living around the demolition site. A Corporation engineer in the East Zone office said on Friday that the demolition had been carried out after obtaining permission from the civic body.
