As you walk into the narrow lanes of K.S. Garden slum located parallel to K. H. Double Road, you will see that scores of families have shifted their kitchen utensils and furniture outside their homes.
These families have been sleeping outside since Saturday night as their homes, like several others in the locality, have been flooded with drainage water.
Residents have placed planks of wood in front of their houses and stones on the path and have to do a balancing act so that they do not fall into the drainage water.
They sleep, eat and perform their daily chores amidst the stench and the dirty water.
‘Unhygienic’
Poo Balan, (59), a businessman, who lives in the slum said the drainage water from the public toilet seeped into the low-lying areas where the houses were located, making it difficult for residents to venture out of their homes. Susheela Paul, a domestic worker said mosquitoes and flies breed in the water.
“The area has become so unhygienic that it is no wonder that scores of children have been falling sick. None of the authorities are concerned about our plight,” she said.
Residents of the area say this is a routine affair as the drainage water gets clogged and enters their homes at least once every month.
They say the sanitary line in their area is old and needs to be replaced.
R. Manohar, a social activist , said the authorities concerned only provided “temporary” solutions.
“For several months, we have been urging the authorities to change the sanitary line. But they have failed to heed our requests,” he said.
Poll boycott
A couple of residents that The Hindu spoke to also mentioned that they would boycott the Lok Sabha polls on April 17. Lalita L., a domestic worker, said: “If our elected representatives are not even concerned about our plight, why should we even bother to cast our vote,” she said.
A. Avvai, councillor of the Sudhama Nagar, along with BWSSB officials, have promised to lay a new sanitary after the elections were over.
