CHENNAI: As heavy rain lashed the city on Wednesday, surplus water from the Parthipattu lake in Avadi flooded several houses in and around neighbouring localities including Ambattur and Ayappakkam.
Residents said by 5 pm on Wednesday the connecting road from Avadi to Poonamallee was flooded with water till three feet. Low lying areas such as Saraswathi Nagar, Sankar Nagar, Vasantham Nagar in Avadi were worst affected. However, Thursday morning water had receded from the houses.
The presence of several illegal buildings on the surplus canals of the lake is said to be the main reason behind the flooding as the water did not have a proper path to flow to neighbouring Ayappakkam and Ambattur lakes.
"Water entered all ground floor houses part of the housing board tenement next to the lake. But it was built on the Eri's land and is an encroachment by itself. A college has built a large boundary wall along the surplus canal leading to Ambattur lake," said Mohammad Iliyas, a resident who lives next to the Parthipattu lake.
Officials confirmed that blatant encroachment on the surplus canals was a long-time problem that they will be tackling soon. "People living on the water channels have somehow got Patta and are
encroaching this space. With no other path to flow, water floods interior roads. This otherwise would have gone to nearby water bodies," said a senior WRD official.