People living in low-lying areas of the town want the authorities to speed up flood mitigation work before the onset of the monsoon.
Rains are synonymous with inundation for residents of Krishna Nagar, Rainbow Nagar, Venkata Nagar, Mohan Nagar, Pavanan Nagar, Anitha Nagar, areas in Mudhaliarpet, Nellithope, Reddiayarpalam and Indira Gandhi Square.
“It is a problem that residents in low-lying areas face every year. Successive governments have made promises but so far no concrete steps have been taken. Rainwater enters ground floor of residential buildings causing heavy damage,” said Karthikeyan of Krishna Nagar.
Last year, rains triggered flash floods.
“Water just gushed in all of a sudden in the middle of the night. Many appliances and furniture were damaged beyond repair, not to talk of the slush that settled on the premises,” he added.
R. Vinod of 4th Cross in Rainbow Nagar said the government should desilt the Karuvadikuppam and Uppar drains before the monsoon.
The accumulated silt should be removed from the spot and the carrying capacity of the channel increased.
Minister for Public Works K. Lakshminarayanan said this time the impact of heavy rain on residents would be less as the government had started work involving several crores of rupees under various schemes, including Smart City, using funds available with the department.
There was even a proposal to install pumps with sensor in low-lying areas. These pump sets could capture the level and pump out the water into the drains. This would help in timely intervention in managing floods, the Minister said.
Work picks up pace
“We have started work in several places, including Rainbow Nagar, Ellaipillaichavady. Work on projects worth around ₹30 crore had been initiated. We are sure that there will be a lasting solution to the problem of inundation of low-lying areas,” he said.
Explaining the projects, he said the administration planned to install four high-capacity pumpsets at Vasantham Nagar, Krishna Nagar and Rainbow Nagar to pump out water into the Karuvadikuppam drain.
Moreover, the rainwater that flows from Lawspet area would be diverted to the Gorimedu drain by providing a pumping main from ECR overhead tank to Kokku Park at a cost of ₹11.50 crore, he said..
To prevent flooding at Indira Gandhi Square, Reddiyarpalayam, Pavanar Nagar, Anitha Nagar and Mudaliarpet, the earthen channel from Mettuvoikkal to Pallavoikkal would be made a concrete drain to let the water reach Ariankuppam river without any spillover.
The project would cost around ₹39.80 crore, said Chief Engineer of Public Works Department Sathiyamurthy.
Work was on to install a pumpset near Women and Child Hospital to drain water into Mohan Nagar drain. The drain had been desilted, he said.
The Chief Engineer said work, including desilting of main drains in several areas, was full in swing and would be completed before the northeast monsoon sets in.
