This northeast monsoon will be a litmus test for the Tambaram Corporation which is working towards preventing floods. The Corporation, formed with the merger of five municipalities and five special panchayats two years ago, is gearing up to face the monsoon for the first time. In the first two years, it was preoccupied with the local body elections and tweaking the administration.
The Corporation has built an elaborate network of stormwater drains and desilted the old drains after studying the previous flood patterns. As the Tamil Nadu government allotted nearly ₹38 crore for flood-mitigation projects, officials have completed nearly 80% of the stormwater drain construction in the five zones. They are also speeding up the remaining work.
₹37.6 crore allotted
A senior official said funds were sought for building stormwater drains in the merged areas, including Hasthinapuram, Nemillichery, Thiruneermalai, Madambakkam, Sembakkam, Chitlapakkam and Selaiyur. With ₹37.6 crore allotted, the network is being built in 13 localities to a total length of 12.50 kilometre. The old stormwater drains are being desilted since the first week of September.
The drains were built at Sudarshan Nagar and Brindavan Nagar of Madambakkam near East Tambaram, at a cost of ₹7.5 crore; from Sridevi Avenue to Tellus Avenue at Gowrivakkam at a cost of ₹3.60 crore; Jain Nagar under the Sembakkam zone at a cost of ₹3.80 crore; and Thirumalai Nagar at a cost of ₹3.40 crore. The flood-prone localities and the draining facilities were considered while the network was planned, officials said.
A senior official said stormwater from Gurusamy Nagar at Anakaputhur and Manimekalai Street at Pallavaram would drain in the Adyar; water from M.K. Nagar would drain in the Keelkattalai Lake; from Subham Nagar in the Moovarasampet Lake; from Jain Nagar and Thirumalai Nagar in the Nanmangalam Lake; from Vallal Yusaf Nagar in the Sambakkam Lake; from Tellus Avenue and Brindavan Nagar in the Vengaivasal Lake; and from the IAF Road in the Thiruvenchary Lake. All these localities were prone to flooding during the previous monsoon, the official noted.
The southern localities in the city also have waterbodies being maintained by the Water Resources Department (WRD) and arterial roads under the State Highways Department, which are outside the jurisdiction of the civic body. However, the progress of the desilting of the old drains and the construction of the new network, done by the Highways, is being monitored regularly, civic officials said.
The Corporation Commissioner is holding regular meetings with officials of the State Highways and Water Resources Departments to assess monsoon preparedness and monitor the progress of the construction of the drains in Selaiyur Main Road and the desilting of Pallavaram Periya Eri, Thiruneermalai Lake, Madambakkam Lake and Nanmangalam Lake.
Desilting of canals
The Water Resources Department has almost completed monsoon-preparedness work in all waterways in the Tambaram Corporation, including surplus courses. The projects include the desilting of supply and surplus channels and removal of debris and floating waste from the waterways. Waterways like Veerangal Odai, Okkiam Maduvu, Pappan channel, the Nanmangalam Lake surplus course and the Perumbakkam surplus course are being cleared of debris, silt and weeds.
A senior official of the WRD said floating machinery was used in waterways such as the Keelkattalai surplus course, linked to the Narayanapuram tank, to clear the vegetation. The surplus courses of waterbodies like Sembakkam and Chitlapakkam have also been covered under the project, apart from the Adyar, where many channels drain floodwater.
Residents have grievances of sewer overflow, non-removal of encroachments from waterbodies and the incomplete construction of the drain. Social activist V. Santhanam says the delay in the construction of stormwater drain on the Service Road along the GST Road at New Colony could result in the stagnation of water on the arterial road. He says a small portion of the drain has not been completed by the Highways Department because of the delay in the shifting of an electricity transformer.
At Thiruneermalai, several residential localities are prone to flooding because of rainwater overflowing from the Naattu Kaalvai. The Naattu Kalvai, a canal maintained by the WRD, evacuates the additional water flowing in the Thiruneermalai Lake to the Adyar through Thiruneermalai Industrial Estate and the residential localities of Saraswathypuram and Saraswathypuram Extension.
Shrunk at several places
Saravanan, a resident of Saraswathypuram, says the WRD at last cleaned the canal this year after several representations were made to the government and details were sought under the Right to Information Act. He says the canal had shrunk at several places with encroachments and wants them removed to restore the waterway.
At Nemillicherry near Hasthinapuram, localities like Jain Nagar, Thirumalai Nagar and Kannammal Nagar are prone to flooding despite the presence of several waterbodies.
A. Nazir Ahamed, president, Saraswathi Nagar Residents Welfare Association, thanks the Tambaram Corporation for constructing a cut-and-cover drain at Thirumalai Nagar North Extension and linking it to the Nanmangalam Lake. He wants the Corporation to close an old channel, constructed to evacuate rainwater from the Hasthinapuram Lake to the Nanmangalam Lake because it carries only sewage, which overflows.
(With inputs from K. Lakshmi)
