TN on war-footing to finish stormwater drain works ahead of monsoon

CHENNAI: With the northeast monsoon to lash Tamil Nadu by the end of October, the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department is on war footing to complete the stormwater drain work.

A senior official of the state Public Works Department told IANS that the work was progressing on a fast phase and that almost 90 per cent of it was over.

The official also said that the deluge-like situation would not repeat in Chennai and other major towns of the state where water inundation had taken place during earlier monsoon periods.

The department is conducting the repair and maintenance works for the Storm water drains in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Madurai, Tiruchi, Dindigul, Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Tirunelveli, and other districts of Tamil Nadu on a war footing. The concerned Chief Engineers and Superintending Engineers have been deputed by the government to complete the work in an error-free manner within the stipulated time.

During rains in 2021, several towns of Tamil Nadu including Chennai were inundated with water and people have to be shifted to the relief camps on a war footing. The state government had sanctioned the necessary funds to the Public Works Department to complete the Storm Water Drainworks and to prevent any inundation during this monsoon.

K.R. Mukundaraj, Scientist and social activist while speaking to IANS said, "The PWD has to work in a meticulous and planned manner so that all the water channels are free from any blockage and all the stormwater drain works are properly completed. Then there will not be any worries during heavy rains in the ensuing northeast monsoon."

Tamil Nadu Public Works minister E.V. Velu told IANS that the Storm Water Drain work is almost complete and that there won't be any complaints during the northeast monsoon of 2022.