Okkiyam Maduvu waterway expansion work will withstand next year's monsoon: Chennai Metro Rail
“The ventway is presently about 80 m, and the height of the ventway is also less. Hence, to address this, a meeting was held in the secretariat, and it was decided to increase the ventway to 200 m with an addition of 1.5 m vertical clearance," it added.
Chennai Metro Rail Limited
CHENNAI: The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has clarified that the Okkiyam Maduvu bridge work is being carried out to increase the capacity of the waterway by next year's monsoon, and assured that the work would withstand heavy rainfall.
In the press note, the CMRL stated, "Discussions have been speculating regarding the impact of the work on the Okkiyam Maduvu waterway. However, after Cyclone Michaung in December 2023, a critical issue of the inadequate capacity of the existing Okkiyam Maduvu bridge to handle heavy rainfall was highlighted.
“The ventway is presently about 80 m, and the height of the ventway is also less. Hence, to address this, a meeting was held in the secretariat, and it was decided to increase the ventway to 200 m with an addition of 1.5 m vertical clearance," it added.
As per a request from the Water Resources Department, the CMRL is currently involved in demolishing the existing bridge after building a new one with a wider waterway to prevent flooding in the Pallikaranai marsh area.
Assuring that the current work on the waterway is focused solely on improving its capacity, it said, "The present work being carried out by the CMRL is road work across Okkiyam Maduvu to increase the waterway to 200 m so that in the next monsoon (after the upcoming monsoon), the bridge will be ready with increased waterway." By the next monsoon, it will be better equipped to handle heavy rainfall, the note added.
The present work will be closed before the upcoming monsoon, and the existing ventway will be cleared up to the bed level of the Maduvu, the CMRL stated.
To ease flooding in Sholinganallur, Perumbakkam, and Semmanchery areas, the State Highways Department has planned to widen a narrow bridge on the Medavakkam-Sholinganallur road near the Central Institute of Classical Tamil to ensure the unhindered flow of excess water along the Okkiyam Maduvu channel from the Pallikaranai marsh into the Buckingham canal.