Residents of Chitlapakkam have appealed to the Chitlapakkam Selection Grade Town Panchayat to reconstruct culverts and stormwater drains to ensure free flow of rainwater into Sembakkam lake.
At Nazeeb Avenue, Abraham Lincoln Street, Jawahar Street, Munuadhi Street and Vaidhyalingam Street, culverts have been constructed above the level of stormwater drains. As a result, rainwater does not flow into these culverts, thereby flooding residential houses. Residents have sent several representation to the CM’s Cell about this problem.
It must be noted many areas in Chitlappakkam, including Ramakrishna Nagar, Sharma Nagar, Vaithyalingam Salai, Nazeeb Avenue and Verghese Avenue, were devastated in the 2015 floods. As a temporary measure, the panchayat officials constructed open culverts.
K. Krishna Kumar, a resident of Ramakrishna Nagar, said, “During cyclone Vardah in 2016, rainwater could not flow into the culverts; as a result, the residential colony suffered flooding.”
In both the instances, residents were forced to relocate to a safer place. P. Ravindran, a resident of Abraham Lincoln Street, said, “Flooding affects us more than the problem of water scarcity.”
An official of the Chitlapakkam Selection Grade Town panchayat said necessary action would be taken.
