Sunday Tribune

Watercours­e health hazard

Resident says 900mm diameter outlet water pipe dangerous to children; attracts snakes and rats

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CLARE Estate resident Dayalan Chetty has called for the city engineerin­g department’s interventi­on to fix a hazardous watercours­e hole which was dug close to his house.

Chetty was adamant that while city workers removed one dangerous situation, they created another. He claimed the city built the watercours­e hole on the stream next to his house.

The hole was left open and Chetty was worried that it could be dangerous to his children. It also attracted mice and snakes, he said.

In 2012, before he built his house, he had been trying to engage with the municipali­ty to make the watercours­e pipe safer. “I am again requesting that the hole in the watercours­e that drains into a 900mm diameter outlet pipe be covered in such a manner that the children do not get swept into the open pipe,” he pleaded.

He said the city previously told him that they would not be able to cover the pipe as it was in a council servitude. Municipal workers admitted that they had created a dangerous situation but constructe­d a brick headwall with an outlet pipe.

“They told me covering the pipe would reduce the inlet capacity of the high flows and would cause debris to block the opening and would negatively impact up or downstream property owners. But my life is in danger. Why can they not find other ways to resolve this?

“I have been complying with all the by-laws as the municiplai­ty told me to build the wall around my house and use a fence instead,” he said.

Chetty said he even asked the municipal workers to visit the site to see how dangerous the hole was, but he was still waiting for the visit.

“At some stage, they (city workers) told me that the court granted them the order to open the watercours­e pipe on my yard as a flood precaution measure which I supported. But they never showed me the copy of that order,” he said.

Chetty said he had no problem with the opening and asked for it to be covered.

“I am in the process of getting pets, I doubt the SPCA will approve my applicatio­n because of this hazardous pipe. A few weeks ago my grandson was seriously injured after he fell down the hole.

“I have tried to close the pipe because kids like playing around it, which is dangerous,” he said.

 ?? PICTURE: BONGANI MBATHA ?? Clare Estate homeowner Dayalan Chetty is concerned with an open watercours­e hole which was built by the city outside his house.
PICTURE: BONGANI MBATHA Clare Estate homeowner Dayalan Chetty is concerned with an open watercours­e hole which was built by the city outside his house.

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