Residents of Mel Ayanambakkam, Thiruverkadu, say repeated sewage works and heavy-vehicle traffic have left Etteeswaran Koil Street potholed and waterlogged, despite requests for permanent repairs. Asphalt has not been properly relaid after underground sewage work; rainwater stagnates on cracked stretches during monsoons, making it unsafe to go outside after moderate showers, resident S Bhagyalakshmi said.

Former area councillor D Ramadas said road conditions have not significantly improved in six years and temporary patch repairs do not last because of heavy traffic on narrow roads. Monsoon water from nearby tanks further weakens the roads. Officials plan to lay new roads near Vivekananda School, but lack of widening causes peak-hour congestion and puts students at risk of accidents. Thiruverkadu panchayat assistant engineer P Nalini said sewage maintenance is expected to finish within a week and the new road will be laid at the earliest.

Nearly 100 residents of Koladi in Thiruverkadu Municipality were detained on Saturday while protesting the fencing of a playground near Koladi lake; they were released later. Residents fear the proposed sewage treatment plant (STP) could contaminate nearby waterbodies and eliminate a playground used for decades by locals and national-level athletes.

A ₹972.73-crore underground drainage project for Poonamallee, Mangadu and Thiruverkadu includes an STP on about 8 acres of the 13-acre playground. It would treat wastewater from Thiruverkadu, Mangadu and Kundrathur. A government school 40 metres from the proposed site prepares meals for hundreds of children under the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme. Residents say an alternative site is available near the Cooum and cite a 2021 election promise by Minister S M Nasar to turn the playground into a mini stadium.

Tiruvallur Collector M Prathap said the fencing is to prevent illegal sand extraction, for which an FIR was recently registered. He said the tertiary-treatment plant would not discharge wastewater into nearby waterbodies and the site was selected after technical studies of gradient and gravity flow; alternative sites may not work as well.

Noombal region in Tiruverkadu Municipality experiencing growth in residential population and new schools. Roads in Noombal area mainly in poor condition. Erikkarai main road damaged for several years; Mettu Road nearby also in risky condition. Temporary repairs easily damaged by vehicular movement or heavy rainfall. Resolution passed July 2024 to relay Erikkarai Main Road but no action taken. Residents report multiple complaints filed, two-wheeler riders sustaining injuries from falls. Jurisdiction unclear: Greater Chennai Corporation map includes Erikkarai Street but residents say it belongs to Noombal under Thiruverkadu Municipality. Neither GCC nor Thiruverkadu Municipality has acted on complaints; officials did not respond when contacted.

Flyover across railway tracks near Annanur railway station completed in 2022; opened for vehicular movement when level-crossing closed but MTC services not introduced until official inauguration by CM M K Stalin. Annanur and Ayapakkam residents depend on suburban train services; poor bus connectivity causes problems when trains are reduced for maintenance. MTC route 77 plies between Koyambedu and Ayapakkam via Ambattur Estate bus stand; residents want extension to Avadi via Annanur and new service to Tiruverkadu. Previous minibus service from Avadi to Ambattur OT via Cholambedu withdrawn citing poor patronage; residents want it resumed. Councillor R Sudhakaran of 32nd ward Annanur said proposals sent from minorities minister and Avadi MLA.

The Madras High Court’s first bench, comprising Chief Justice K R Shriram and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, took suo motu cognizance of a report on encroachments at Koladi Lake in Thiruverkadu and directed the registry to list it as a public-interest litigation on October 21, 2024.

The report cited illegal construction of 250 houses inside the lake’s water-spread area; some had electricity connections. The Water Resources Department demolished seven houses under construction on Saturday evening. Officials said already completed houses could not be demolished until eviction notices were issued. The Revenue Department was to enumerate them and issue notices within a week, after which remaining encroachments would be removed.

The lake’s registered area is 169 acres, but it has shrunk to 112 acres. Its original water-holding capacity is 2.7 million cubic metres, with surplus discharge of 164 cusecs. Waterbody restoration activist S Sekharan blamed Tangedco and Greater Chennai Corporation for providing electricity connections and streetlights to encroachers.