Chennai city is facing significant challenges as the monsoon approaches while stormwater drain preparations remain incomplete
Chennai received 46cm rain from Dec 3-5, 2023, flooding several neighbourhoods. The city now has three ongoing drain work projects encompassing 1,093km, of which work on 1,045km has been completed. In Pulianthope, an entire road has been cordoned off near KP Park tenements due to drain work. Two projects are nearly five years old, funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and KfW Development Bank respectively—they had faced multiple hiccups due to funding issues, tendering malpractices, gradient problems and coordination between departments.
Monsoon is approaching but city roads are in a bad shape and stormwater drains are far from flood-ready. Unfinished stormwater drains remain open across various pockets, as Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has not built silt catch pits. Newer neighbourhoods are bracing for a bad monsoon this year. The civic body has left the stormwater drain open in multiple spots in Anna Nagar Second Avenue from Thirumangalam to Roundtana. Key junctions haven’t been connected. GCC too has not coordinated with the department While contractors say that Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (Tangedco) isn’t helping them shift key electrical junction boxes. Arcot Road remains dug up along the Kodambakkam and Valasaravakkam stretches with work happening in bits and pieces. The situation in KK Nagar’s PT Rajan Salai is similar. Now, work on about 48km is left, stretched across densely populated neighbourhoods such as Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Anna Nagar, Alandur, Perungudi and Sholinganallur areas. Metro work on Arcot Road has also affected existing pipelines and stormwater drains at several locations. GCC is heavily depending on pumps in these areas.
TN chief secretary M Sai Kumar has directed officials to finish all northeast monsoon-related works by Sept 30. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Chennai | Silver Rate in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai | Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Petrol Price in Chennai | Diesel Price in Chennai | CNG Price in Chennai | LPG Price in Chennai Stay updated with the latest Chennai news.
Former Thiruppugazh flood committee member S Janakarajan said, “SWDs only carry sewage, industrial waste and solid waste, and they end up in the city canals and rivers instead of treatment plants. Capacity must be studied,” he said, adding that the drains must be built according to a masterplan that maps watersheds and the natural slope. “Cut-and-cover drains are being used as patchwork to fill missing links,” said Bhuvana Raj, head of Eco Watch, a volunteer-led environmental monitoring group formed by the Federation of OMR Resident Associations (FOMRRA). Drains are diverted to the Buckingham Canal, which itself is not desilted,” she said.
When there’s heavy rain, the drains overflow. He added that the civic body has been demolishing existing stormwater drains in narrow streets and rebuilding them. “This is unnecessary. A big street now has a drain which has low capacity,” he added. “When project reports are not publicly available, how can we be confident that the drains being built are scientifically designed? “We must not wait for nature to stress-test the stormwater drains. They must be built with adequate capacity. Download the TOI App.
Besides this, the civic body is yet to finish missing link work in 68 of 105 identified locations. Without finishing the remaining work, even the 1,000 dewatering motors procured by GCC will be of limited use. The corporation is also yet to desilt at least 500km of its overall 1,682km of drain network—only 59% of silt catch pits, which act as an entry point for water to enter drains, have been desilted.
Though the length of the network where work is pending is less, the impact is significant, as even the smallest bit of unconnected drain can sink an entire neighbourhood.