Residents say the floor level of houses on the northern side of Lakshmi Street is lower than that of the nearby UGD inspection chamber, fuelling fears of sewage flowing back into their premises if connected to the network.
| Photo Credit: T. Arvind
Residents of Lakshmi Street in Saraswathi Colony, Hasthinapuram, have not opted for underground drainage (UGD) connections, saying they would do so only after the Tambaram Corporation assures them that sewage will not flow back into their homes. They also say they have received SMSes asking them to pay UGD charges despite not having taken household connections.The UGD scheme was implemented in Chromepet around 2010-11 by the then Pallavaram Municipality, now part of the Tambaram City Municipal Corporation. While complaints of sewage overflow at several locations have surfaced over the years, residents say the problem affecting a section of Lakshmi Street is different.According to them, the inspection chamber serving houses on the northern side of the street remains filled almost to the brim with sewage even though many households have not been connected to the UGD network. Fearing that sewage could flow back into their premises because of the alignment of the pipeline, most residents on the northern side have continued to rely on septic tanks, except one newly constructed apartment which has a UGD connection.
