The Ukkadam flyover construction work is causing severe traffic bottleneck in Karumbukadai area, which is also facing civic issues like water-logging and uncleared garbage.

Civic problems have escalated in Karumbukadai area, covering wards 78 to 83, particularly due to the ongoing construction of the four-lane Ukkadam flyover extending up to Aathupalam Junction by the Highways Department begun last year.

Sabeena Shamshudeen, leader of the Women’s Welfare unit of the non-profit organisation Jamaat e Islami Hind in Karumbukadai tells The Covai Post, “Nearly all roads are potholed and become water logged in heavy rains. Children, office goers, daily wage workers are unable to reach schools and offices in time. Patients are missing hospitals appointments due to heavy traffic and treacherous roads. In fact, a pregnant lady when being rushed to hospital in an autorickshaw, delivered her baby in the vehicle due to the delay caused by the traffic bottleneck. This happened around two months ago.”

She added that nearly one lakh vehicles, including two- and four-wheelers, pass through Saramedu Road, Karumbukadai due to the Ukkadam flyover construction every day. “We welcome the road works which will in future de-congest the city, but the corporation should have made provisions to repair these roads before beginning that project.”

She also complained that garbage collection trucks did not come regularly to the area. “They come once in 10 days, by then residents have finished dumping their garbage in the Rajavaikal canal. Now due to the recent heavy rains, the canal has overflowed, and nearby houses have become water logged with trash and flotsam. The stagnant pools of water have increased mosquitoes and flies with fears of viral diseases like dengue and malaria. So we have submitted a petition to the Coimbatore Corporation demanding clearance of the Rajavaikal. The garbage trucks came the following day but they did not clear all the garbage, leaving some behind. Now again the trash is rotting in heaps. Also, yesterday’s rains have flooded two more houses.”

She says that Karumbukadai’s defective storm water drainage and sewage system also caused the water logging. Although Corporation officials did visit to check the overhead tanks and water storage sumps in each house for chlorination, she says this was unnecessary.

“We regularly clean our tanks before the corporation water supply day which means every fortnight. So our immediate needs are a Primary Health Centre in the area as government hospitals are quite far away, a covered kitchen for the midday meal cooking at the local government primary school and proper roads and drainage,” insists Sabeena.

The Women’s Welfare unit has personally spent money to fill up potholes with mud near Crescent school and a huge pit near a government primary school in Saramedu, where about 100 students are studying.

“Even parts of Noyyal river are being dumped with garbage from other areas. We enquired about that also and did not get clear replies from the Corporation. So we are planning an awareness programme in Karumbukadai on October 24 about door-to-door collection of segregated waste and responsible disposal of garbage,” she concluded.
The Women’s Welfare unit believes that continuous petitions will help address Karumbukadai’s civic issues.