Sewage problems irk Kanchipuram residents

KANCHEEPURAM: Residents of Kanchipuram and the town and village panchayats nearby have one and only one criteria for election. "He who can give us a sewage system shall get my vote, said Devananth S, a businessman living in Sevilimedu, a town on the outskirts of Kanchipuram town. Most of the areas in and around Kanchipuram town do not have a sewage system.
In the absence of a sewage system, the residents use septic tanks and pits in their houses. "Once in three months, we hire somebody to empty and clean the pit, which costs around Rs 1500 to Rs 2000," he said.
Once the seat of silk industry and a pilgrimage destination, the primary occupation here today has shifted to the assembly lines of the factories in the special economic zone at Sriperumbudur. Youngsters from weaving families, who were once followed their parents' footsteps, are now to get jobs in the factories in the area. Even as the weaving industry is dying out, a new class is emerging people from Chennai who are settling here due to lower land prices.
But authorities have not augmented the infrastructure. B Shanmugham, who works in a hotel in Kanchipuram said, "The old drainage system in the town can take the load of 100 people but now, 800 people live in the same space. The system has not been improved, leading to overflowing sewage. We've complained several times, but nothing has been done."
Traffic is another issue, say residents. A Jagannathan, who owns a steel shop near Toll Gate, said, "Traffic has grown four-fold but we still have single lane village roads. There is not a single flyover or subway at any junction."
The two key candidates PS Ulagarakshagan of PMK and V Somasundaram of AIADMK are promising this. "The town is going through a transition. Yet the necessary infrastructure has not been laid by the current PMK MLA. We will provide subways and drainage systems," said Somasundaram. Ulagarakshan refuted that his predecessor had accomplished nothing and said, "Sewage is a problem. We shall install it if I'm elected. My predecessor has done several good things," he added and rattled off the DMK's freebie schemes.
Another grudge is poor quality of drinking water. "We once had fine drinking water from Palar river nearby," said Kannan P. "That water is sent to Chennai and we are given water from Thiruparkudal, another river nearby, which has bad quality water."