For Priya, a resident of Band Line near the Commercial Road in Udhagamandalam, the lack of a proper road leading to her home brings back bad memories.
She remembers how during her mother’s funeral, she and her family had a difficult time taking the body out of her home to give her mother a dignified funeral. “The road leading up to our house is so badly damaged, with water from the drains as well as rain water collecting on the road, and ensuring that no vehicle or people could get through it without wading through slippery mud,” she said.
Priya is among more than 100 families who live in the Band Line area, a residential space adjoining the bustling Commercial Road, one of the busiest and most popular roads in the town. Another resident, B. Ramesh, said that an open sewer runs in front of most of the houses of the residents that live in Band Line.
“Water from a farm just above the area, mixes with sewage and flows in front of the houses,” he said, adding that the sewage enters their houses every year during the monsoon season.
“The DMK party office is less than a 100 meters away from the area. Yet, there has been nothing done to clean up and set right the problems that we have been highlighting for many years,” complains Ramesh.
Residents state that the stagnating water, and the open dumping of garbage in the area pose a significant health risk for local residents, due to the open drains becoming breeding grounds for flies and mosquitoes.
“The stench in the area, just after the rain, becomes unbearable with many children falling sick often due to the unhygienic conditions,” said Mr. Ramesh. The residents have been demanding that the sewage be redirected using Underground Drainage (UGD) lines away from the area, but state that the Udhagamandalam Municipality, despite multiple requests, turns a blind eye to their complaints.
“We have been living here for many years, and most of the people here are poor laborers. Despite multiple appeals, there has been almost no effort to permanently address the problems of a lack of street lights, poor waste collection and lack of UGD lines in the area,” said another resident.
