Mogappair West residents want canal to be linked to Cooum

Those living in the areas along the canal are exposed to health hazard, say associations

Residents of Mogappair West want the open canal in their locality to be linked to the Cooum to reduce pollution.

The 3-km canal that was constructed to carry flood water from the surrounding areas has now become to a sewage drain, complained residents.

S. Swaminathan, secretary, JAMBA United Welfare Association, said the canal had been deepened over the years. But it remained polluted as sewage from Ambattur Industrial Estate gets pumped into it. Several illegal sewage outfalls are added in the areas enroute. Residents have to tolerate unbearable stench for many years now.

People living in Mogappair West 3 and 5 to 8 blocks face health hazards due to the sewage pollution in the canal. Many houses face the canal that runs through the middle of the road through Mogappair West and Mogappair Eri scheme and falls into the Cooum.

J. Suresh Babu, treasurer, J. Jayalalitha Nagar (West) Residents’ Welfare Association, said several electrical and electronic items often get damaged due to the gas from the open drain. Groundwater pollution had been arrested after the earthen channel was converted into a deep, concrete canal. But pollution due to the flow of untreated sewage increased over the past few years, he said.

Residents demanded that release of sewage into the flood water channel must be stopped. They suggested that the open canal may be covered wherever possible. The associations had recently submitted a representation to the Greater Chennai Corporation and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board on the issue.