Madurai Corporation has received several complaints from residents regarding waste blocking the water flow at the Avaniyapuram channel.

Madurai: Madurai corporation will float a tender for a robotic machine for the desilting of the Avaniyapuram channel. The machine will be used to shift the slushy soil from the channel to the compost yard in Vellakal. The tender is valued at ₹4.94 lakh and will open to bids on July 20.It is to be noted that the channel with broken parapet walls has become a hub for waste dumping. The dumped waste creates blockages, causing waste to pile up and have a bad stench along the channel.K Shyam, a resident of Avaniyapuram, said, earlier, many people used the water from the channel for irrigation as well as washing clothes and livestock. ”The unclean water is preventing people from using it now. The waste pileup at many spots creates a bad smell too,” he said.Corporation commissioner Gaurav Kumar said the civic body is in the process of getting permission from the public works department (PWD) and water resources department (WRD) to conduct desilting and waste clearing operations on all the main channels in the city. “The channels will be desilted soon to prevent any flooding when it rains,” he said.