Stinking stretch at Arapalayam bus stand puts commuters, residents at risk

Stagnant sewage and an open waste dump near the Arappalayam bus stand are posing severe health hazard for hundreds of commuters and nearby residents, who say repeated complaints to the civic body have gone largely unanswered.

The spot, located beside a school on the side road leading to the bus stand, has become an open urinal for passers‑by, leaving the stretch reeking and littered with plastic and other garbage.

Every day, schoolchildren, passengers and shopkeepers are forced to walk past pools of filthy water mixed with solid waste. Residents say conservancy workers occasionally clean the surface, but the underlying problem of the open, clogged sewage line and dumping point has not been addressed.

A school teacher said drainage mixed with plastic and other waste constantly flows past the stretch and often remains stagnant because of a block in the line.

“Only when corporation workers manually clear it does it move, and during heavy rains, it overflows, causing a terrible smell. The public also uses it as a urinal. We have kept boards and barricades to prevent urination, but everything has gone in vain,” he said.

Residents allege that floating traffic continues to use the edge of the channel as an open urinal despite being warned, making the area “untidy, nasty‑smelling and very prone to diseases.” The location is one of the busiest boarding points for town and long‑distance buses, forcing commuters to wait amid foul odour and swarms of flies and mosquitoes.

Ms. Gokila, who lives in Corporation Colony opposite the bus stand, said that running sewage around the terminus had led to a “massive mosquito problem”, with fears of dengue and other diseases, especially during the rainy season. She added that a nearby public toilet is “poorly maintained and extremely smelly,” pushing people to urinate in the open instead, and said it is “scary to send my children out in the evening.”

Responding to the issue, Deputy Mayor of Madurai Corporation T. Nagarajan said he would visit the spot in person and ensure that necessary action is taken to address the sewage stagnation and open urination problem.

Similar grievances have been voiced from Sellur, where residents on 60‑ft Road and the adjoining street complain that an overflowing garbage point has turned into a permanent dump, with waste spilling onto the main road.

Locals have demanded that more bins be provided and that garbage be cleared daily before it spreads across the carriageway, causing stench, disease risk and inconvenience to road users. Residents of both neighbourhoods have urged the civic authorities to treat sewage management and solid‑waste clearance as priority public‑health issues rather than carrying out occasional cosmetic clean‑ups.

Catherine JP