The residents of Shanmugha Nagar near Sungam Bypass Road in Ward 74 have been living with poor streetlights, terrible roads, and shortage of dustbins for as long as they could remember.

A. Chinnasamy, the Secretary of the Shanmugha Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, who had been living in the area for more than three decades now, said that more than 100 families living in the area, with a population of about 700. “We also have people moving in on a regular basis. Since it is closer to the railway station and the Ukkadam bus stand, we are expecting more and more influx of people,” he said.

But, despite the growing population, Chinnasamy added that the corporation officials have failed to meet the needs of the area, including a bitumen road. “We have been asking for roads for a long time now and we did not even get a gravel road,” he opined, adding that the area does not have proper drainage system either.

“The officials must first lay a gravel road, connect each house with drainage pipes, and then lay a bitumen road on top. But nothing has happened till date,” he said. The situation is terrible during monsoons.

S. James Edward, another resident of the area, said that two-wheelers find it difficult to navigate the roads during rains. “My daughter slipped and fell down last month, while driving her vehicle. This is not the first time. Such accidents are very common in our area,” he said.

The shortage of proper dustbins in the area has forced the residents to dump their wastes in the nearby Valankulam tank, polluting the lake. “Even the roadside shops on the by-pass road dump their wastes in the lake. We know it is wrong, but we don’t have a choice,” said a vendor.

Lack of proper streetlights is another problem that haunts the public. Lights tend to not work properly in all the tree lanes of the area. “The nearby areas have all the facilities, but we don’t understand why the corporation officials neglect our area,” another resident complained.

R. Ehambaram, the councilor of the ward, has said that he would look into it the issue.