Urgent desilting of Ainsley canal sought

Chennai: With the Northeast monsoon expected to hit within a month’s time, thousands of residents staying besides the Ainsley canal at the Ayanavaram Railway colony are looking for an immediate government intervention to desilt the canal and allow for free flow of water and thus prevent stagnation of sewage.

The Pananthope Railway colony residents’ welfare association has urged authorities to clear the debris on the 4-kilometre stretch of the canal between Villivakkam near the level-crossing 1 and Otteri Nalla that is under the southern railway and ICF.

“We have been raising the canal issue with railway officials for the past seven years. Now, it has come to a stage where the water level of the canal near the residential plots has risen by 3-4 feet due to construction work. With the onset of the monsoon in a few weeks, we are deeply concerned of the overflow of waste water to our house hold limits,” said C. Krishnamoorty, general secretary, residents' welfare association. A protest will be held in the coming week and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) will also be informed soon, he added.

“Railway colonies have no sewage treatment plant and pumping stations that has forced some of the households to let the organic solid waste to be dumped in the canal," said K. Ramadoss, president of Ayanavaram Exnora club and.

“It becomes very difficult for us to stay in our houses due to the extreme stink. There have been cases of skin infections and rashes due to  mosquitoes,” said K. Ravi, a retired railway employee residing at Pananthope colony for the past seven years.

The canal that originates from Villivakkam near level crossing 1 passes through Pananthope colony, Ayanavaram Rail colony and flows adjacent to the railway hospital, railway joint office and two railway owned schools, ICF higher secondary school and the Railway high school.

“We have cleaned the half kilometre stretch that is parallel to the constable road that was under our purview a year ago and the rest of the stretch of the canal is under the Southern Railway," said a senior divisional engineer of ICF. The legislators of the colony said the land belongs to railways and therefore the maintenance of the canal is under the purview of Southern Railway.