CHENNAI: While the State government has initiated comprehensive measures as part of its preparedness for the Northeast monsoon, water management experts and activists aren’t quite convinced they are enough to avoid floods.
With the monsoon forecast to hit the State on October 26, fears of a rerun of the 2015 deluge that wreaked havoc in Chennai and its adjoining districts and the mauling by 2016 cyclone ‘Vardah’ are palpable in people’s minds.
Among the initiatives whose efficacy will be tested is Kudimaramathu, an ancient meth
od of inclusive approach to maintain water bodies, and silt removal from all tanks and canals across the State to increase their storage capacity.
While the government aggressively pushed the project, “encroachments on water bodies and water courses have not been completely removed. Storm water drains have not been properly connected to rivers and canals. Under these circumstances, the risk of flooding during the monsoon is high,” A Veerappan, an expert in water management, told Express.
Also, unless encroachments are completely removed and storm water drains are well connected to ensure free flow of water, flooding cannot not be averted, he reasoned. Well known crusader of farmers rights in Cauvery delta region ‘Mannargudi’ S Ranganathan lamented that no major rivers flowing in the delta region were desilted to avert floods. “For the past 15 years, no major rivers running through the delta region has been desilted,” he said.
Ranganathan, who heads the Cauvery Delta Farmers Association, added, “The government should evolve an effective plan to clean up major rivers in the delta region.” Both Veerappan and Ranganathan acknowledged the earnest efforts of the State government in flood mitigation.
“Kudimaramathu works and silt removal have led to desilting and deepening of water bodies and increasing the storage capacity. Both have reduced the risks even though the funds allocated are very little,” said Veerappan, who is the president of Tamil Nadu Senior PWD Engineers’ Association. Ranganathan noted that tank silt came handy to farmers to enrich the soil quality and increase productivity.