At Arappor Iyakkam meet people discuss means to prevent flooding
For the last two months, residents of affected areas in the city got together for citizen audits and understood the reasons behind flooding.
Hundreds of denizens participated at the event organised by Arappor Iyakkam on Sunday
CHENNAI: Arappor Iyakkam along with several residents welfare associations organized a demonstration 'Kelu Chennai Kelu' on Sunday at Valluvar Kottam.
Hundreds of citizens across the city gathered and registered their points regarding the effects of flood in their areas and the reason behind inundation during the recent flood in December 2023.
Citizens from nearly 20 places across Chennai spoke about the effects of flood in their area, reasons behind flooding in their area and the list of measures that Government and citizens should work on to prevent flooding in the future. For the last two months, residents of affected areas in the city got together for citizen audits and understood the reasons behind flooding.
"The area was flooded due to intense rainfall and it was a difficult experience because the excess water failed to flow into the Kosasthalaiyar river due to encroachments of water channels which resulted in inundation. There was no flood mitigation work was carried out by the concerned department which is one of the reasons for the inundation. Also, it took several days for the stagnated water to drain, " said M Amith, a resident of Manali New Town.
Similarly, people from Perumbakkam spoke about how they were affected drastically by the flood, need for expansion of the water channel between Perumbakkam Eri and Pallikaranai Marshland to its original capacity and the need for restoration of the Marshland by demolishing key blockages.
Makkal Medai platform is also a process towards providing clarity and awareness amongst citizens about the reasons behind flooding and understanding of the water bodies and water channels in their area apart from pressurizing the government to work towards a permanent solution. "Now, citizens from different places have gone through a process of learning about their area and the waterways. We believe that this knowledge building amongst citizens would go a long way for citizens locally to work continuously towards solving the flooding problem in their area, " said Jayaram Venkatesan, converner of Arappor Iyakkam.
