CHENNAI: The Public Works Department (PWD) has found a new definition for river restoration. Defying logic, a large stretch of the Cooum river at Nolambur has been completely filled with construction debris and flattened as part of restoration and beautification efforts. The convention says a river, which is a natural drainage system, be desilted and kept clean to enhance the water-carrying capacity. But here, more silt has been added to the river distorting its natural gradient and riverine ecosystem.
When Express visited the spot on Monday, the 80-foot-wide Cooum river resembled a concrete road, where people were seen walking across. Two earth-movers were stationed to completely close the river and a small baby canal of about 6-10 feet wide was being built to allow the water to flow.
The river bed is almost equal to the surface of the road. Remember, Nolambur and Mogappair East are low-lying areas and were one of the worst affected areas during the 2015 December floods. An official of the Thai Moogambigai Dental College and Hospital, which is located adjoining the river bank in the area, told Express that during the 2015 floods, the ground floor of the college was almost submerged.
“We don’t know what the government is planning. In the last two weeks, several tonnes of construction debris were poured into the river and flattened. The contractor said it’s a government project and they are building a baby canal in the river. Definitely, we are worried. The river height has been alleviated substantially,” he said seeking not to be named.
Raja Ram, a social activist and local resident, said construction debris piled up on the river bank after the Chennai Corporation razed close to 70 houses that were illegally built along the river. These debris are now used to literally choke the river spending crores of public money. Meanwhile, S Janakarajan, former professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies and president of South Asia Consortium of Inter-Disciplinary Water Studies (SaciWATERs), has ridiculed what PWD has done.
“I would like to ask PWD a fundamental question. What is river restoration? By d2efinition restoration means bringing back the river to its original condition. In this case, they are bringing the river to a new distorted condition which is against the hydrology and riverine ecosystem,” he said, and added that the engineers without realising the adverse affects are bringing in cosmetic changes that would prove counterproductive during the peak monsoon season.
This apart, the Chennai Corporation is constructing a compound wall on either side of the Cooum river, which again is bad engineering. Janakarajan said a river cannot be converted into a canal. “When a compound wall is constructed on both sides, you are making a river a canal by chopping off its floodplain. Hydrologically, river is the lowest point in the area, which is why it attracted run-off water. By building a wall, you are preventing the river to take water from both sides. This is nothing but a distortion of hydrology of the river. Even if they provide provision for run-off water to flow into the river in a few areas, this is still bad engineering,” he lamented.
When contacted, PWD assistant engineer J Baskar told Express that work was not yet completed. The excess soil will be removed and there won’t any hindrance for flood waters to flow during monsoon. “We are building a baby canal to prevent water from stagnating during off-season. We are not limiting the width of the canal. It will only benefit the people of area,” he said defending the ongoing works.