As work stalls, flooding looms

Motorists travelling along the Jawaharlal Nehru Salai in Koyambedu may not escape flooding this northeast monsoon as work to build a channel to divert excess water has hit a roadblock.

Though the Rs. 30-crore project was scheduled to be completed by the end of the month, the Water Resources Department (WRD) is unable to carry out portions of the work for want of permission for traffic diversion.

The department had started work over a year ago to build a channel to carry surplus water from Virugambakkam-Arumbakkam canal and link it to the Cooum river. The channel would travel via the Metrowater sewage treatment plant, Kaliamman Koil Street and Jawaharlal Nehru Salai and Poonamallee High Road.

Of the total distance of 2,400 m, work has been completed for a stretch of nearly 1,900 metres under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. However, work to interlink the constructed portions on Jawaharlal Nehru Road near the Koyambedu flyover and connect the channel to the Cooum river has been delayed for a month now.

Sources in the WRD said the department was waiting for permission to take up work on the service lane carrying traffic from Poonamallee High Road into Koyambedu. “We will need a month to complete the portion covering about 200 metres on the service lane. We have also suggested an alternative route for traffic,” said an official.

Once it is finished, there may be a respite from the flooding on the arterial road that affects the people every monsoon. Work on portions to interlink the channel is also pending on Kaliamman Koil Street and Jawaharlal Nehru Salai and can only begin after the work on the service lane. “We want to complete the entire work by March next year,” the official added.

A similar work in Anna Nagar to link excess rain water from Otteri Nullah to Cooum river is progressing at a fast pace and would be over in a few months.