When several roads in the city were marooned under water during the heavy rains, there was hardly a puddle stagnating on one particular road in Thiruvanmiyur.
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Nagar Main Road, which was one of the worst affected areas during the December floods in 2015, remained spick and span despite the heavy spell. The road showed that a proper stormwater drain can prevent water logging, becoming a model for Chennai Corporation and the rest of the city.
A share in the success for creating the storm water drain network goes to the members of the residents welfare association who coordinated with the officials of the civic body to remodify and improve the ‘once’ defunct stormwater drain network. The residents in most parts of the city have come to accept the problem of water stagnating on roads even if the stormwater drain facility is present.
Improper alignment and the drain not being linked to the macro drain has often created such situations. The road running parallel to the congested LB Road is used by hundreds of motorists to avoid getting caught in the traffic jam.
A senior official of the Adyar zone in Chennai Corporation under whose limits the road falls said the residents badly affected by the flooding in December 2015 complained about the ineffectiveness of their stormwater drain. The same official in 2016 had identified that the flooding of the road was caused by non-linking of the drain network and obstructions in the form of various underground cables including electricity and telephone cables.
Citizen initiative
As part of the re-development of the storm water drain, all the cables were shifted to the opposite side and the drain network was linked to Malaviya Avenue, from where it fell into the macro drain and finally into Buckingham Canal.
Also, the stormwater drain was desilted regularly.
V.N. Dinakar Rao, coordinator, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, Thiruvanmiyur, said the residents have been particular in not only seeking the help of the corporation officials to repair the drain network but also in ‘enforcing’ the upkeep of the footpath under which the stormwater drain facility has been laid by disallowing vehicles to be parked or driven.
