Monsoon may have arrived but the city is still struggling with 100 major civic issues that could cause heavy flooding this year again. The 15 monitoring officers — all of whom are IAS officers appointed by the government to oversee the progress of the monsoon preparedness works — have identified at least 100 such issues pending with 10 civic agencies after visiting more than 200 locations.
On Friday, the municipal administration secretary K. Phanindra Reddy held a meeting of supervisory officers of the 15 zones at Ripon Buildings to discuss the 100 major issues relating to the civic agencies in the city limits spread over 426 sq.km.
As the Water Resources Department failed to desilt Buckingham Canal which crosses five of the 15 zones of the city, the Chennai Corporation has started desilting the canal.
ADVERTISEMENT
According to official sources, encroachment along the central Buckingham Canal has been one of the factors for flooding of areas, such as Mylapore. The MRTS infrastructure developed along the canal has long been a hindrance to the flow of stormwater in the canal. Now, Corporation has started using amphibian vehicle for cleaning the canal.
Similarly, desilting of Otteri Nullah and Veerangal Odai has also been a challenge where several bottlenecks, involving some of the civic agencies, could not be cleared immediately.
There is also delay in getting clearance from the National Highways Authority of India for constructing stormwater drains across arterial roads, such as Poonamallee High Road, officials said. Work on stormwater drains along 15 locations along National Highways in the city limits has been delayed, they added. It has been found that the design of median along roads such as Anna Salai has been blocking the flow of stormwater in many locations. The civic body officials will demolish such structures shortly, officials said
ADVERTISEMENT
Many of the civic agencies have unfinished work despite the predictions that the city will have heavy rainfall later this month. For instance, CMRL is yet to complete work on a 10-metre-wide drain in Nandanam to drain water coming from T. Nagar into the Adyar.
The WRD has been asked to clear portions of Pallikaranal Marsh and deepen lakes, such as Adambakkam Lake, for flood control.
Similarly, the Metrowater has been told to grant permission for sewage connections to prevent illegal connections. The Railways has not cleaned culverts along the tracks in Alandur and Thiruvottiyur, which could lead to flooding, officials said. The civic agencies have been given a week’s time to inspect the works on issues discussed at the meeting and report back on its status.
the Chennai Corporation has started desilting the canal