SWD interlinking, desilting to be finished before Sept: Chennai Corportation Mayor

CHENNAI: The desilting of stormwater drains (SWD) and cleaning silt the catch pits should be completed before September as the city has been witnessing intense spells during the monsoon, said Mayor Priya Rajan, during a review meeting.

She chaired the meeting on development projects, including SWD works, and road re-laying works, along with the bureaucrats at the Ripon Building on Wednesday.

During the meeting, zonal level officials provided the present status of the SWD desilting, cleaning of silt catch pits, and removing hyacinth from the waterbodies.

Priya instructed officials to complete the works, within the stipulated time, and also, clear the silt catch pits near subways in the city to prevent inundation during the monsoon seasons.

In addition, tree pruning should be carried out during non-traffic hours. Immediate replacement of non-functional street lights must be done in all the zones.

“The majority of SWD construction has been completed in core areas. The remaining works should speed up before the onset of the northeast monsoon. In view of southwest monsoon, desilting SWD and cleaning silt catch pits carried out, and the interlinking of drains must be completed before September,” she stated.

The road re-laying works began in the city at an estimated cost of Rs 238.55 crore after restrictions of Model Code of Conduct were lifted. Priya urged authorities to complete the work within the deadline without interrupting public livelihoods.

GCC Commissioner J Radhakrishnan, deputy commissioner (works) V Sivakrishnamurthy, chief engineer (general) S Rajendiran, regional deputy commissioner of three regions and other senior officials were part of the meeting.