As the district is expected to get heavy rain in the coming days, residents have urged Coimbatore Corporation take a three-fold approach to tackle monsoon-related problems: clean stormwater drains, promote rainwater harvesting, and check electric lines.
“Once the monsoon arrives, we often witness flooded underpasses and unfortunate cases of electrocution, all pointing to the unpreparedness of the civic body,” said J. Jayaprakash, a resident.
According to the Corporation, areas near the seven smart city lakes are susceptible to flooding because of their low-lying terrain, particularly along Selvachintamani tank and Valankulam, which are downstream.
At present, the outflow and inflow points at these lakes have unobstructed water flow. However, the prevalence of waste accumulation is a cause for concern, said Vijay Babu, secretary, Selvachintamani Lake Association. “This may cause water to overflow and flood nearby localities,” he added.
Further, over the past five years, critical locations, including Lanka Corner subway, railway underpasses on Shastri Road and Sivananda Colony, areas adjacent to Lakshmi Mills, Ukkadam flyover, various sections of Ramanathapuram, and the subway beneath the flyover on Avinashi Road, have experienced flooding during the monsoon season.
The civic body built a concrete stormwater drain from Coimbatore Railway Station to Valankulam and widened the drains at Lanka Corner following the death of a 55-year-old government employee who fell into electrified rainwater near Lanka Corner.
“We have also begun cleaning storm water drains across the city. In the last two days, we have covered 40% of the drains in the critical areas. The rest is expected to be done in a week’s time. We will survey various spots to ensure that underground and overhead wires are in place,” a senior Corporation official said.
M. Susruth Gowda, a private contractor who has worked with the engineering departments at the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Coimbatore Corporation and Kochi Municipal Corporation, emphasised the need to promote rainwater saving methods in the city. “Today, no civic body can afford to waste rainwater. While Combatore Corporation focuses on fixing monsoon-related issues in the city, it must also set rainwater harvesting norms and impose fines on households violating them.”
Sudha Pasumapalli, the former head of the water supply department at the Corporation, suggested the need for more rainwater conserving systems such as permeable pavements. “There are about five such pavements that we built with the engineering department in 2022. The city needs more,” she said.
Published - May 16, 2024 04:53 pm IST
