Arterial roads cannot afford to get flooded. But the sad fact is that they do. In some cases, monsoon after monsoon. That describes Nungambakkam High Road to a T. A section of this arterial road — from Kodambakkam High Road intersection to Anna Flyover — keeps its date with inundation, every monsoon. During the 2015 cataclysmic floods, this section was heavily inundated. And in what seems quite ridiculous, it was water-logged after a series of gentle showers this year. Only one vertical half of the road was without stagnant water, which led motorists to bunch up there, causing a stubborn traffic knot.
“Water stagnates mainly near the pavement, narrowing the traffic to the portion near the median. This makes it risky for motorists taking a turn towards Kodambakkam High Road. Besides, there are no traffic police personnel to regulate traffic at the Nungambakkam-Kodambakkam junction,” says Sudha N., who takes this road every day to reach her house in Kodambakkam.
According to the executive engineer of Zone 8, “The stormwater drain is at a level that is significantly higher than where the pavement is located; this impedes gravitational flow of rainwater, thereby causing water stagnation. Moreover, drains in these parts are over 30 years old. The water drains at a painfully slow rate. Faulty sewage connections sometimes add another dimension to the problem of water stagnation. So, to prevent a messy situation, we pump out stagnant water.”
The team is in the process of identifying similar areas where drainage systems are “high-placed”. He points out how at MGR Salai, which is off Kodambakkam High Road, work is being carried out to rectify the placement of the drainage system.
“Similar work will be carried out on this section of Nungambakkam High Road. We however want to avoid cutting open the road unnecessarily. As this is a busy section, any elaborate and time-consuming work will impede traffic movement significantly. We will start the work when the monsoon takes a noticeable break,” says the official.
