Residential areas in Pallikaranai may have a solution to the long pending issue of waterlogging whenever Anaieri lake in the area overflows. The Water Resources Department will begin constructing a flood regulator and surplus water channel in a few days.
Spread over about 50 acre, the lake does not have a surplus course of its own, and this leads to waterlogging in the neighbouring areas, including Ambal Nagar. Surplus water from Anaieri reaches Narayanapuram lake and then Pallikaranai Marshland.
Residents noted that the stormwater drains in the nearby areas did not have the capacity to carry such a large volume of water flowing out of the lake. S. Surendran, a resident, said the streets remained waterlogged for many days when the lake overflowed during the monsoon.
WRD officials said a flood regulator would be constructed in the lake as part of the ₹57-crore project to reduce inundation in the surrounding areas. There are no plans for any other improvements in the lake as the civic body had earlier strengthened its bunds.
A 2-km surplus water channel would be built along Velachery-Tambaram Main Road to link Anaieri lake to Pallikaranai Marshland.
While the 3-m-wide channel would reach the marshland, another channel would be built for a short distance of 400 m to be linked with the stormwater drains being constructed by the Highways Department. The WRD plans to complete the work by the end of the year. Once the project is completed, flooding may largely reduce in residential areas of Pallikaranai, an official said.
