GCC to demolish, reconstruct 12 bridges in Virugambakkam canal
The Virugambakkam Canal – from Bhuvaneswar Nagar to Cooum river at Nelson Manickam Road – has been choked with silt and garbage for a long time.
Desilting works being carried out at the canal (Photo: Hemanathan)
CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation has planned to demolish and reconstruct 12 bridges disrupting the water flow in the Virugambakkam Canal of the total 28 bridges as of now. Additionally, a survey will be conducted regarding encroachments, and connecting points will be built as part of the restoration project.
The Virugambakkam Canal – from Bhuvaneswar Nagar to Cooum river at Nelson Manickam Road – has been choked with silt and garbage for a long time. It was previously maintained by the Water Resources Department (WRD).
The Corporation has planned to construct divert points for free water into the canal from residential areas. Compound walls will be constructed surrounding the waterbody to prevent garbage dumping and encroachments. These steps will prevent inundation in many areas including Annai Sathya Nagar, MMDA colony, Chinmaya Nagar, Arumbakkam and Natesan Nagar.
The waterbody has not been desilted, and untreated sewage has been discharged from residential areas in the locality. During the monsoon, the area would be inundated due to lack of restoration work in the canal.
To prevent flooding, the Corporation has requested WRD officials to hand over the canal for maintenance, which was done recently. After the water body was handed over, the civic body has desilted 2,500 metres of the choke points of the total 6,700 metres in the last 35-40 days. At least 1,100 tons of silt was removed from the canal.
“There are 28 short bridges in the canal. Of which 12 short bridges are being identified critically. Since these interrupt proper water flow, we’ve planned to demolish them and reconstruct them into arch bridges. A total of 1,700 cusecs of water should flow near these bridges, especially along the MMDA colony, but only 850 cusecs flow now. This led to inundation in the area during the monsoon,” explained V Sivakrishnamurthy, deputy commissioner (works), GCC.
“A bathymetric survey will be conducted by a private contractor and IIT-Madras to measure the depth of the waterbody. “Another survey will also be done to identify the number of encroachments and connecting points to the canal during the rainy days,” he added.
The untreated sewage has been discharged into the Virugambakkam canal from the residential and commercial buildings in the locality. So, as a part of the restoration project, the GCC has identified 16 points as of now. Once the survey report is submitted, the numbers are expected to change and based on that, steps will be taken to implement preventive measures.
