Residents of Katchaikatti panchayat demand proper sewage disposal system

A resident of Kalliyamman Kovil Street at Kachikatti panchayat in Madurai district collecting sewage from a collection point for disposal.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

More than 300 people residing in Kalliyamman Kovil Street at Katchaikatti panchayat in Madurai district manually remove sewage from the collection points constructed outside their houses to avoid overflowing in the absence of a drainage channel.

Karuppayi, a resident of the street, said for more than 10 years only their locality lacked a proper sewage disposal system.

“Wastewater released from the bathroom and kitchen gets collected in a pit-like collection point outside every house. In the absence of a drainage channel, the sewage gets stagnated there for days together,” she added.

If the water was not removed, it would eventually overflow into the street and houses, she said, adding that the situation was the same for almost all the 300 houses.

Demanding construction of a channel to conduct the sewage from the collection pits, the residents had staged protests several times, but a response from the authorities was still awaited, she said.

Unable to bear the foul smell coming from the sewage collected in the pits, they often collected the sewage bare-handed and poured it on a barren land close by, she said.

Gnanasekaran, another resident, said the need for a sewage channel was stressed in the form of resolutions passed at several gram sabha meetings, but no action was taken on their demand.

“Also, drinking water connections which were given under Jal Jeevan Mission are no longer functional. Due to a fault in connections, they have been defunct for several years,” he alleged.

Whenever the residents pressed their demands through resolutions at gram sabha meetings or protests, the officials would pacify them assuring that the work be completed in few days, but nothing fruitful had happened yet, he added.

A district administration official posted in Vadipatti block said they had received complaints regarding the sewage issue and they would soon rectify it. Regarding the issue of faulty drinking water connections, the official said though it had already been set right, they would again look into it.