With the onset of the northeast monsoon expected in a few weeks, residents in several areas have complained about the fresh digging of roads for stormwater drain work. According to residents, roads in areas such as Velachery, Choolaimedu, T. Nagar and Egmore have been dug up recently.
Velachery resident S. Kumararaja said the road connecting Velachery-Taramani Road to Perungudi railway station, Bharani Street, in ward 178, has been dug up for stormwater drain work last week. “Residents fear that the work will be delayed. It is a good project, and the proposal is fine. But the project must be completed ahead of the monsoon. Once the diversion of excess water from Kallukuttai to Buckingham Canal is completed, flooding in Udayam Nagar, Seshadripuram and Park Avenue will be controlled. Currently, the water drains to the Pallikaranai Marshland,” Mr. Kumararaja said.
Residents said most of the interior roads in wards 176, 177 and 178 in Velachery had been dug up, with civic agencies, such as the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco), implementing their projects.
T. Nagar resident V.S. Jayaraman said work on development of a bigger drain on Motilal Street was under way. “They should link the drain with the disposal point on Usman Road before the monsoon,” he said. Roads in other flooded parts of T. Nagar have been dug up this week to develop new drains.
Similarly, roads in areas such as Thiruvengadapuram in ward 109 have been dug up by the Corporation to develop new stormwater drains. In Egmore, digging of roads, such as Rukmani Lakshmipathi Salai and Red Cross Road, was undertaken on Saturday for the development of stormwater drains.
In Pulianthope, residents said the work along Powder Mills Road and Kannigapuram Main Road had been delayed. Ward 72 councillor M. Saravanan said 90% of the work was completed, and the rest would be taken up only after an EB pillar box was shifted. “Many electrical cables have been damaged in the area. Officials have planned to resume work after the EB pillar box is shifted next week,” he said.
In Teynampet zone, ward 109 councillor E. Suganya said work on flood-prone areas, such as Anna Nedumpathai, would be completed this month. “Digging in Thiruvenkadapuram has started this week. The work will be completed this month,” Ms. Suganya said.
Ward 129 councillor M. Ravi Shankar said the residents had requested the Corporation to complete the work before the onset of the northeast monsoon. “Over 70% of the drains along flood-prone parts of Arunachalam Road in Saligramam have been completed. Only 70% work along VOC Street, Pammal Nallathambi Street and Arcot Road has been completed,” said Mr. Ravi Shankar.
GCC officials said the civic body would stop digging up new stretches of roads by September 20. “The GCC has decided to stop digging up new stretches of roads after September 20 to prepare for the northeast monsoon. Existing work will be completed by the end of September,” an official said.
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