With the floods that ravaged Velachery fresh in people’s memory, they may be inclined to see the whole of this locality as flood-prone. However, there are several areas in Velachery that were once believed to be insulated against flooding — that is, before the floods.
Residential areas along Gandhi Road, located adjacent to IIT Madras, did not face water stagnation even during the heavy rains of 2005 and 1985. However, during the floods in November and December last, residents of these areas — which include Ayodhya Colony, VGP Avenue, New Colony and Dr. Seethapathy Nagar — faced severe inundation.
The residents complain that encroachment on the canal located on Gandhi Road and Draupadi Amman Koil Street was the reason for the water stagnation.
D. Uday, a resident of Ayodhya Colony, said that in the normal course, rainwater from IIT-Madras drained into the Velachery lake through the canal that is located on Velachery Main Road.
But considerable encroachment on the canal has blocked the natural water course.
Residents’ welfare activists rued that gradual encroachment on a portion of the Velachery lake and canal was the reason for the flooding.
