The Central government’s team visited various parts of the city on Sunday to assess the damage to civic infrastructure caused by flooding during the recent rain.
The team visited roads such as Jothi Venkatachalam Road and Alagappa Road at Vepery near the Egmore railway station.
Egmore MLA K.S. Ravichandran said the level of stagnant water increased on Alagappa Road because of the collapse of the storm-water drain. “Residents have requested the Chennai Corporation to build a new drain on the road. I had also given a petition to Corporation officials for a new drain. But they have not built one,” he said. “Residents were unable to come out of their homes on Alagappa Road for three days during the rain. It is the situation in a well-developed urban area. The plight of the residents in suburban areas may be worse,” he said.
Mr. Ravichandran stressed the need for inviting local MLAs to meet Central government teams and said he was not given an opportunity to participate at a meeting with the team in the Egmore constituency.
“More than 2,000 residents were affected in areas like Osankulam during the rain. The residents have demanded the reconstruction of the old tenements and the development of new drains. Officials such as Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers, who know all aspects of the civic issues, may not get an opportunity to talk to senior officials of the Central government during such an inspection. So, we have requested the civic officials to invite MLAs and residents,” Mr. Ravichandran said.
Chennai Corporation Commissioner G. Prakash said officials identified the damage to the civic infrastructure, estimated at ₹86 crore.
The team also visited Tondiarpet and areas near Ennore Creek. In the southern parts of the city, the team visited Pallikaranai marshland, Sholinganallur and Velachery. The infrastructure of at least 10 tanks was damaged.
The damage in the neighbourhoods of Pallikaranai marshland was more because of the absence of a proper drainage system to take the storm-water to Muttukadu, officials said. The team assessed the damage to agricultural fields on the city outskirts caused by water release from tanks.
