With northeast monsoon likely to set in shortly, waterlogging in residential areas along highways in the city has already worsened.
Residents have urged the Chennai Corporation to speed up desilting of existing drains and design proper drains along arterial roads. Corporation officials said the design of drains along the highways in city limits was not suitable for urban settlements along the stretches. In addition to 471 bus routes maintained by the Corporation in the city, many arterial roads are also developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and State Highways.
“Waterlogging is leading to public health problems. We requested the Chennai Corporation to drain the water. But no action has been taken so far,” said B. Ramesh, a resident of Korattur village in Chennai Corporation Ambattur zone.
“A new two-metre-wide drain along Jawaharlal Nehru Salai from areas near the intersection of Jawaharlal Nehru Salai and Korattur-Villivakkam railway line to drain water to Retteri Lake will solve the problem. But the highways authority is yet to take steps to construct the new drain. They have constructed a small drain measuring 60 cm for the road without consulting Chennai Corporation. They do not have the practice of consulting the Corporation while developing drains along arterial roads in the city. This is the reason for the problem,” an official said.
Drains along Mount Poonamallee Road and Manali Road have also been found to be inadequate, causing waterlogging in the neighbourhoods along the stretch. Following complaints from residents, Chennai corporation officials have started inspecting the localities along highways to find solutions for the civic problems relating to waterlogging.
However, work on desilting and construction of drains is yet to take off in many such areas. Officials recently visited the residential neighbourhoods of Korattur in Ambatur zone, sandwiched between the Korattur lake and Jawaharlal Nehru Salai to find an alternative route to drain water from a two sq. km area.
Even after identifying solutions for the problem of waterlogging in the neighbourhoods of Korattur Lake, Chennai Corporation or other agencies have not started the work. The Corporation has failed to desilt the ‘closed drain’ between TVS Canal and Otteri Nullah before the monsoon.
The stagnant water in Korattur neighbourhoods is expected to drain through Otteri Nullah after desilting.
