Engineers to face action if water stagnates in stormwater drains

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation which is carrying out the construction of new stormwater drains (SWD) at around Rs. 2,000 crore had warned its engineers of action if water stagnates in the drain after the construction of the new drains.

In a circular, Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Chennai Corporation Commissioner, directed the engineers to compulsorily check levels with consultants or project management consultants before commencing the stormwater drain works. "After construction of SWD (stormwater drain), if water stagnates in the drain without proper flow to disposal points, concerned assistant engineer, assistant executive engineer and executive engineer will be held responsible," Bedi warned his engineers.

Also, the engineers should check the flow of water in the drains by pouring water in the drains using tanker lorries. The curing of concrete works must be carried out as per the norms and for the required number of days and this should be ensured without fail, the circular stated.

Safety at the sites:

On Wednesday, a car fell into a pit that was dug up for the construction of a stormwater drain in Adyar. To avoid such kinds of incidents, Bedi instructed the engineers to provide safety arrangements at the construction sites.

"All safety measures should be followed while executing the works, such as proper barricading with steel structure and casuarina poles. Also, proper ramp and hand railing provisions must be given at all the entrances. If any untoward incident is reported due to the lapse in safety aspects, the concerned junior engineer, assistant engineer, and supervisory assistant executive engineer and executive engineer will be held responsible, " the circular warned.

In order to avoid service interruptions during the execution of works, the civic body instructed the zonal officers to inform service departments such as Tangedco, Metrowater, BSNL, optic fiber cable companies and others about the works in writing before the execution of works. Also, the presence of representatives from the service departments should be ensured. "The contact details of contractors and officers concerned should be communicated to the service departments, " Bedi instructed.

Presently, the construction of stormwater drains is ongoing for a total of around 900 kilometers at a cost of Rs. 1,900 crore. Apart from this, tenders have been floated to construct new drains in south Chennai at Rs. 464 crore. In total, more than 1,200 of new drains will be constructed in a phased manner.

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