Every time the sky is ready to pour, fear of floods resurfaces among residents of Koyambedu and Anna Nagar.
Though surrounded by minor and major waterways, these areas did not escape the devastating floods last year. While inundation is not new to Koyambedu and Virugambakkam, last December’s deluge had wreaked havoc in many households .
Residents of Chinmaya Nagar recall those days when they spent over a week under water. “Rainwater mixed with sewage had entered our house and the entire area was marooned for a week. We bought packaged water for Rs. 450 then. But, sewage problem still persists and silt from sewer lines are not cleared for two weeks. It is time that Virugambakkam-Arumbakkam drain is desilted,” said D.Shantha, a resident of Koyambedu. As the stretch of Jawaharlal Nehru Salai between Vadapalani and Koyambedu lacked proper stormwater drains, flood water from the Adyar had entered the road from Ashok Pillar and Vadapalani. The major waterways in these areas such as the Cooum, Virugambakkam Arumbakkam drain and Otteri Nullah carried much beyond their capacity and it took several days for water to drain.
Though there was not much spill over from Virugambakkam-Arumbakkam drain, several areas like Sayee Nagar and Indira Nagar were inundated as there was no escape for the floodwater. S. Arumainathan, president of Virugambakkam Residents Welfare Association said: “The retaining wall constructed along the Virugambakkam canal helped to some extent. But, it has been left neglected with floating garbage.”
Indiscriminate raising of road level in many parts of Anna Nagar had pushed several houses to a lower level. Lack of proper stormwater drains too made roads like 18{+t}{+h}Main Road, 13{+t}{+h}Main Road and Sixth Main Road vulnerable to floods. For several months now, residents of Syndicate Bank Colony have been fighting for removal of encroachments on minor canals. J.M.S. Nagarjun of Syndicate Bank Colony complained that the feeder canal to Otteri Nullah had shrunk from a width of 40 feet to four feet, particularly near Park Road. Meanwhile, sources in the Chennai Corporation said work to provide SWD on 18{+t}{+h}Main Road at a cost of Rs.75 lakh will be completed in a month. Similarly, TVS canal and Agathiar canal linking surplus of the Korattur and Ambattur lakes and flowing through Anna Nagar West are being improved at a total cost of Rs. 5 crore and encroachments are also being removed.
