Clear encroachments blocking 6 culverts: Velachery residents

CHENNAI: Residents of Velachery urge civic authorities to remove encroachments blocking the six culverts near Perungudi railway station, which had prevented inundation during the rainy season last year.

“Since many encroachers from illegal buildings were evicted in 2018, we didn’t face flooding for the past two years. And now we see that compound walls have been constructed recently,” they claim.

The six culverts are an important source for residents of Velachery, Perungudi, Taramani, Kallukuttai and IIT village, where rainwater flows through them and directly into Pallikaranai marshland. As there were no culverts constructed, the area was severely affected during the 2015 Chennai flood.

“Even after the construction of the culverts, several illegal buildings have blocked the channel. After several complaints to the concerned officers, they were cleared in 2018. So, during the monsoon season last year, there was no inundation in these localities because there was a steady flow of rainwater through the culvert,” said M Balakrishnan, general secretary, Tansi Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association.

Recently, compound walls have been constructed in buildings at Balakrishna Nagar, VGP Selva Nagar, and Bhuvaneswari Nagar which block the water flow to the waterbody. On May 26, the local body removed a road laid last month. Similarly, residents urge civic authorities to ensure that there’s no encroachment in the locality in the future.

“If the concerned department does not evict these encroachments, we’ll be severely impacted during the monsoon this year. The government officials don’t seem to consider such issues seriously, as after a few months, again people will encroach near the water body. They should take strict action to prevent this,” said K Velu, another resident of Velachery.

A senior Zonal Corporation official did not respond to the calls by DT Next. As there were no culverts constructed, the entire Velachery area was severely affected during the 2015 Chennai flood

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