Chennai Corporation monsoon-ready; buys 36 boats

CHENNAI: Leaving nothing to chance in case it pours during the coming northeast monsoon, the Greater Chennai Corporation, in a first, has purchased 36 boats. While most boats were distributed in zones 3 and 14 on Thursday, one was given to the Madhavaram zone and two to the Perungudi zone.

The precautionary steps by the city Corporation come amid the Regional Meteorological Centre cautioning that rainfall activity is likely to range from normal to slightly above normal levels during the northeast monsoon. The monsoon is expected to set in by the end of the month and weather systems are expected to form over the sea which will be favourable for various districts in northern parts of Tamil Nadu including Chennai.

The government has also appointed 15 IAS officers to oversee monsoon preparedness in each zone of the Corporation. The officers are looking at the preparedness, planning, relief and mitigation of all the zones.

City Corporation is also undertaking the identification of vulnerable areas, mapping and analysis, preparedness of institutional arrangements and pre-positioning of human resources and materials. The capacity building, mitigation measures, sanitisation of other stakeholders, deployment and traffic plan, communication, relief arrangements and medical preparedness are also being monitored.

The GCC is also seeking dedicated Community Development Volunteers to assist with flood mitigation efforts in Chennai. Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran has urged the volunteers to register at https://gccservices.chennaicorporation.gov.in/volunteer to assist the civic body during floods.