Plan in pipeline to avoid inundation at police quarters

The police quarters in Kilpauk, Kondithope, Peravallur, Madipakkam and Poonamallee are some of the worst affected due to the flooding of rainwater and it took a couple of days to pump out the stagnant water from the campuses. 

Since the electricity meter boxes and power supply connections are located on the ground floor of the apartment buildings, the residents had to struggle without power during the inundation. 

Officials are mulling on the idea of shifting the panels to the first floor of the buildings or other suitable spots where the stagnant water cannot reach.

“Residential complexes flood during monsoon. Apart from shifting electricity panels, we have also planned to identify the causes of inundation and fix them. 

Line orderlies (designated personnel to report grievances of each quarters) have been instructed to collect the required data. If the inundation is due to the drains in the surrounding, we would try to resolve it by channelling the drains in a proper manner. And for the quarters at the low-lying areas, steps would be taken to pump out the water immediately,” said an official with the city police. 

He also said complaints have been received about the seepage of rainwater through walls and floors and added that they too would be fixed by the TNPHC and engineers from the housing corporation have already surveyed the flood-affected quarters.

The official said the work, which started just before the monsoon, was disrupted by the rains and assured that it would be carried out in a phased and comprehensive manner.

The city police have also tied up with Corporation assistant engineers to prevent breeding of mosquitoes, particularly dengue-spreading Aedes, by sanitising the police quarters and chlorination of drinking water. 

While special repair works at the police quarters are already done by the TNPHC, an official said that they have decided to form a committee among the residents to fix the minor grievances by themselves by utilising the maintenance fee collected.

When contacted, the TNPHC Chief Engineer Jayakumar Somasundaram told DT Next that the affected areas have already been marked and the repair works will begin as soon as the monsoon is officially over.