Corpn races against time to finish SWD works ahead of monsoon

According to a Chennai Corporation official, the civic body is maintaining 7,351 storm water drains running for about 1,894 km in Chennai.

“Apart from the existing storm water drains, the civic body had identified 468 locations with missing storm water drains. Works are being carried out under Chennai Mega City Development Mission (CMCDM) at a cost of Rs 440 crore to ensure the smooth flow of excess water from the disposal points,” the official said.

However, it is learnt that of the 155.49 km new drains proposed, the civic body has completed only around 85 per cent of the total works taken under the ‘Missing link storm water drain project’.

The slow pace at which the work is progressing has also irked the residents of the localities where the work has been going on for a long, who complained that the civic body should have completed the works well in advance rather than waiting till the monsoon sets in.

The storm water drain works, even in upscale neighbourhoods including Adyar, Kotturpuram, Nandanam and Tiruvanmiyur, are yet to be completed. Similarly, unfinished drains are found in Guindy Industrial Estate and Vyasarpadi.

Even the people from areas where the civic body managed to complete the works are also facing hardships, because the Corporation has not taken up relaying of roads that were dug up for the drain work. “The storm water drain works here were completed three months ago. But the roads are yet to be relayed. This has become a traffic hazard,” said a resident of Kannadasan Nagar in Ramapuram.

In several parts of the city, desilting of existing storm water drains is yet to start, as the civic body started floating tenders only a few days ago. If not cleared on time, the carrying capacity of the drains would be reduced drastically, which in turn would lead to waterlogging in these areas.

Meanwhile, Chennai Corporation Commissioner G Prakash said that the number of spots in the city facing waterlogging has come down to less than 100 from around 1,000 spots earlier. “We are planning to create recharge wells in those areas to mitigate waterlogging,” he said. “Storm water drain project for Kovalam and Kosasthalai river basins has been proposed at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore. Once work on this is completed, we will attain 100 per cent drain coverage,” he added.