Stormwater drain reconstruction was the worst project the Greater Chennai Corporation had ever carried on. The idiots who accepted contracts are inexperienced, and the people they hired are from north India. They were nothing more than random laborers; they had no concept of their worth, and executing others was also a flaw. Their labor has degraded the charm of our street, and the stormwater drain does not form a clean line, instead winding up and down like ghats.
They started on June 3rd and have completed 80% of the project, which isn't very pleasant because it opens the door to mosquitoes. The most significant impact of this initiative was that it transformed the city into a mosquito breeding ground! We never had a mosquito problem in the summer. The time we slept with open windows for fresh air at night was quite spoiled, and every day has become a nightmare, as we only get to sleep late at night after killing countless mosquitoes.
The breaking down of sewage pipes that cross stormwater drains to reach the main line that runs under the middle of the road was the cause of the mosquito problem. Unless we insist, when they excavate or build the concrete walls, they break the pipe and go, leaving the sewage water to do their job, and the sewage water fills the stormwater drain and breeds mosquitoes. It is not sure that they will repair the sewage line, and it may continue to flow into the stormwater drain that may not get into their concern, and there won't be an end to mosquitoes.
Thinking along these lines, I purchased a mosquito-killing machine or lamp, as described, but the mosquitoes didn't seem to care and appeared to want just flesh and blood! The device emits ultraviolet light, which seems to lure mosquitos, and when they get close to the light, the powerful fan within sucks the mosquitos to kill with its blades or at the least traps them till they die. I wasn't impressed with the machine, but I kept it running at night to see how much it could hold to keep us asleep.
I really wish the stormwater drain contractors would work with sense and responsibility because it is a public service, and they paid with people's tax money. Local authorities must thoroughly inspect them and severely punish them for their mistakes. I feel sorry for the Corporation commissioner, G Singh, an honest man, to be caught between these corrupted things—a political affair—of selecting contractors who do not deserve professionalism. The local administration's chief is someone the city has never seen before, and she has no idea what she's doing rather than being a show doll!
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