CHENNAI: With monsoon officially here, the Public Works Department is yet to remove its makeshift mud road across Adyar river near Tambaram. This road poses a serious flood risk to residents of Varadharajapuram, a residential colony badly hit by 2015 floods.
The road had been constructed to enable transport of rubble from a demolition site along the river earlier this year. However, the road remains and water continues to pass through small culverts. “These culverts cannot handle the river’s monsoon capacity and water will overflow into the residential colonies if the road is not removed,” said V Rajasekaran, president of Royappa Nagar Thiruvalluvar Residents Welfare Association, explaining that over 350 families are living in fear of flooding.
The 20-foot mounds of mud at the end of the mud road are considerable obstructions to flow of water and encourage spillage into the house of Selwyn Joe, a resident. Even without such obstructions in 2015, the overflowing river completely inundated the ground floor. “The monsoon is almost here and the river is still blocked,” said Selwyn Joe, claiming multiple petitions had fallen on deaf ears.
This obstruction also exposes stretches of the river which have bunds on only one side. “These parts will be the entry points of water into the residential community,” said K Sivagurunathan, a resident.
Meanwhile, a senior PWD official said: “We have decided to remove the mud from the road and place it along the bunds.”