Blaming the Madurai Corporation for its poor upkeep of the city roads, former Minister and AIADMK MLA R.B. Udayakumar has urged the authorities to carry out cleaning operation on a war-footing, on Friday, October 13, 2023.
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In a statement, he said that the Wednesday night rain experienced in Madurai city has exposed the inefficiency of the officials. “If they had closely monitored the forecast and bulletins from the Regional IMD office, the storm water drains could have been kept free from encroachments....” he pointed.
On the night, many vehicles were stranded due to water-logging complaints. A private omnibus was caught in an underpass near Ponnagaram. Due to knee-deep water in remote locations, a small car was floating near Tiruparankundram and Fire and Rescue Services personnel had to be pressed in the operation.
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Instead of taking precautionary measures, the civic administration had remained passive. Many office-goers could not return home since low-lying areas were inundated. The central parts of Madurai city including Ponnagaram, Periyar bus stand, Meenakshi Temple, Simakkal and surrounding areas were completely choked. “There was no way the water could be drained immediately,” he claimed and charged the administration for not being pro-active.
During the AIADMK regime, when the then Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami was at the helm of affairs, he had convened meetings ahead of the northeast monsoon and conducted review of the progress. “What has the present CM done...” he wondered.
The Madurai District Collector and the Corporation Commissioner should submit the works done in the city and district and convene a meeting of officials immediately to tackle the Northeast monsoon, Mr. Udayakumar said and added that the next three months (till December) would be crucial to handle the rainy season. Almost 45% of the water could be stored so that it may be used for the next summer drinking purposes in Madurai city.
The farmers would be happy to see the storage level in the dams rising. At the same time, the people in urban pockets too have to travel safely. Many roads in Madurai city were filled with potholes. When the main thoroughfares were in a bad shape, the officials should visualise the plight of people residing in extension colonies. At least, patch works should be carried out on a war-footing and ensure that roads were safe to travel during rainy season, the statement added.