Broken sewage line pollutes water body

CHENNAI: A leaking sewage pipeline belonging to the Pallavaram municipality, near

Keelkattalai

, deposited severallakhlitresof untreatedsewage into a fresh water channel for a weekwithout raising any alarm among civicofficials. The incident came to light when local residents circulated pictures on

social media

,

complaining about civic apathy

.

Soon after, officials swung into action but were unable to plug theleakuntil very lateon Tuesday. "Until the pictures went online, there was no action from the Pallavaram municipality," said

David Manohar

, a civic activist.

TOI visited the spot and found that a connection joint of two pipes had been disturbed by flood water flowing in the channel, leaving both pipes wide open. According to local residents,untreatedsewage had been gushing into the Keelkattalai lake surplus channelfor atleastseven days.

Municipality officials said a causeway bridge in the spot had been destroyed by flood water running through the channel. "The causeway had protected the pipes. After it gave way, the pipes were exposed. We suspect that the force of water could have caused the pipes to split apart," an official said. The official said the surplus channel would take the water along the Medavakkam Main Road and into the Madipakkam lake. "Eventually, the water drains into the Pallikaranai marshland at Kaiveli," theofficial added.

Residents expressed anguish at how the situation went undetected for so long. "There should have been a mechanism to detect such leaks," said Saravana Kumar of MahalakshmiNagar in Madipakkam. The Pallavaram municipality commissioner's office played down fears of environmentaldamage. "Our staff are at work to arrest the leakage.

The sewer line has been disconnected. The joint can be fixed in no time." However, on Tuesday afternoon, hours after the municipality claimed the sewer flow had been regulated, grey water wasentering thefreshwater channel.

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