Tamil Nadu - Chennai

TNHB apartments waiting for amenities

— Photo: M. Vedhan

IN DIRE NEED: Good roads are among the facilities that are yet to be granted to residents of TNHB apartments off First Seaward Road in Tiruvanmiyur.

CHENNAI: Close to a decade after the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) apartments at the end of the First Seaward Road in Tiruvanmiyur were allotted, residents await garbage clearance mechanisms, piped water supply and laying of roads.

The nearly 500 families that reside here have pooled resources to cart away garbage and bring in water from a private source.

Neel Metal Fanalca, the private contractor clearing garbage from three zones in the city, has promised recently to take up garbage clearance in the locality as well.

The apartments, formerly the property of the TNHB, were handed over to the Corporation recently. The local body is now responsible for provision of amenities including roads.

Residents said that though sewage connections had been provided, Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) officials have sought a letter from the Corporation stating that the apartments fell under its purview, when approached for repairs.

The CMWSSB water tankers currently fill up the five 3,000-litre capacity tanks in the area every alternate day — providing sufficient water for cooking purposes.

Residents are spending up to Rs. 1 lakh a month in procuring drinking water for daily use.

The problem grew acute after 2000, when increasing occupation and ground water use resulted in saline water being drawn by the borewells.

Patchwork on the potholed roads and erection of 27 streetlights are other activities that the residents’ association had to take up at its own expense. Corporation representatives have promised to address these issues shortly, residents said.

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