CHENNAI: Chief Secretary K Shanmugam on Friday has accused Central government of not providing adequate funds for disaster mitigation in Tamil Nadu. “We have to work on long-term mitigation. We are not looking for kind of support from the Central government [sic]. Even if it is not coming, within our own resources we are trying to manage. We keep asking the Central government. they are also extending some support, but that is not adequate,” Shanmugam said.
“We pool our resources and put more on flood management works. We are preparing ourselves for drought, which is another big issue. We are rejuvenating water bodies to store more water for these contingencies,” he said, during a seminar attended by representatives of several central agencies including National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and armed forces, along with foreign delegates from SAARC countries. He said Tamil Nadu has learnt lessons from previous disasters.
Lesson learnt
After the devastating floods in 2015, Chennai has learnt its lessons and building climate-resilient infrastructure that will keep citizens out of harm’s way, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner G Prakash said on Friday. He agreed that city flooding was the result of uncontrolled urban sprawl and there was need for flood plains zoning.
“November 2015 is recorded as the wettest month of the last 100 years with 1113.80 mm of rainfall. Wayback in 1918, Chennai received 1088.40 mm. Maximum rainfall recorded on December 2, 2015 was 319.60 mm. Normal life was affected due to high rise of water level in Cooum, Adyar, Buckingham Canal and Kosasthalaiar river basin as a result of surplus water released from Chembarambakkam, Redhills and Poondi reservoirs.
Literally, entire Chennai went underwater because of lack of climate-resilient infrastructure. From then on, we have come a long way,” he said at the annual joint three-day Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise by Indian Navy and Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority (TNSDMA) here from Friday.
He said today Chennai is 45 per cent climate-resilient and in next three years the city will become fully equipped to tackle extreme rainfall events. “We have completed the largest stormwater drain network for Adyar and Cooum basins. Next phase will cover Kosasthalaiar and Kovalam basins. Periodic maintenance is key to keep the integrity of these drains intact. For this, we are coming-up with a professional annual contracting package and tenders will be issued in two months.”
Commissioner of Revenue Administration K Satyagopal said the reason for heavy flooding in 2015 was because of water flow from neighboring Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur water bodies. In Kancheepuram, out of 912 tanks, 908 tanks were flowing due to which excess water fed into Chembarambakkam lake through 170 drains causing flood in Adyar, Cooum river and link canals.
Similarly, in Kovalam basin, 65 tanks were overflowing causing inundation in Sholinganallur and Perungudi areas. “To avoid such a situation, a comprehensive flood mitigation programme costing `3,000 cr is conceived and the project is in final stages of approval.”Mock exercises will be held on Sunday in 12 selected villages in coastal districts, besides a public exhibition.