Chennai: The link canal in Ezhil Nagar, a crucial waterway connecting the Captain Cotton Canal to the North Buckingham Canal in north Chennai, has transformed into a severely polluted swamp – choked with water hyacinths, garbage, and raw sewage. While one side of the canal recently saw a partial cleanup, the other remains untouched, continuously blighted by solid waste dumping and unchecked sewage discharge.Compounding the problem, heaps of construction and demolition debris line the canal banks, particularly near Ezhil Nagar, where bridge work is under way. This state extends to the Captain Cotton Canal in Kodungaiyur, to which the link canal connects.The rapid growth of water hyacinth—thriving in nutrient-rich untreated wastewater—is a clear indicator of sewage contamination, experts say. Civic activist L M Jaiganesh from Kodungaiyur said people regularly dump waste into the canal. “Despite numerous complaints, clean-ups have been sporadic at best. Debris has remained untouched for over three months, and illegal sewage connections continue to pollute the canal. Metrowater must investigate and seal these connections,” he said.A machine was used to remove hyacinths from one side of the canal, said another resident, R Kamesh. “The machine was taken away before hyacinths from the other side could be cleaned,” he said. The water resources department (WRD) must take responsibility and run awareness campaigns to stop the flow of sewage into the canal.Ezhil Nagar resident K Muthumani agreed. “The Kodungaiyur dumpyard already poses a major problem, and now the canal adds to the misery. During the monsoon, floodwater mixed with sewage enters our homes—sometimes up to chest level,” she said. More than 10,000 residents are affected daily by pollution, she said. WRD officials were unavailable for comment.