Remove encroachers from Adyar river, say residents

Residents say space for the river’s channels has shrunk, resulting in constant flooding of areas such as Mudichur and Varadarajapuram. Photo: M. Srinath

Residents of the city’s southern suburbs are urging local authorities and the public works department (PWD) to take action against encroachers on the Adyar river.

With a number of encroachments having come up of late, space for the river’s channels has shrunk, leading to constant flooding of localities in and around Tambaram, they said.

Last month, a local civic group appealed to the Kancheepuram district administration to crack the whip against encroachments that were shrinking the width of the river around Manimangalam and also asked them to strengthen the river bund on both sides.

The group, from Varadarajapuram in Kunrathur panchayat union, Sripedumbudur taluk, had also submitted its grievances to the PWD.

“The substance of our grievance was that encroachments along the river should be removed and that the bund on both sides should be strengthened so that even during the monsoon, the bunds do not give way. When the bunds give away, the thickly-populated residential neighbourhoods nearby are invariably flooded,” said V. Rajasekaran of Varadarajapuram.

Members of the group said the nearly 200-feet wide Adyar channel had shrunk to a fraction of its original width between Manimangalam and Anakaputhur.

In many of the newer localities around Tambaram, especially those around Mudichur and Varadarajapuram, residents are restricted indoors during the monsoon, as waist-deep water, overflowing from the Adyar river and its channels enters these areas. Residents said deepening of the Adyar river’s channels could also help in preventing flooding.

The river, while in spate, also causes severe damage to roads and inundates Gowl Bazaar, Gerugambakkam, Anakaputhur and Manapakkam.

District officials of the PWD were unavailable for comment.