COIMBATORE: The recent rains once again exposed Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC)’s lack of monsoon preparedness and inability to evolve permanent solutions to the water logging problems, leaving residents of the city worried.
Heavy rains have been lashing Coimbatore over the past few days. Though water levels in water bodies inside the city have risen significantly, the rain resulted in flooding of subways, and causing more damage to roads that already are in a bad shape. In one month, two casualties have been reported in the Lanka Corner junction due to water logging, yet the CCMC has not taken remedial measures.
A couple of years ago, the civic body formed a Disaster Management Advisory Panel comprising experts, architects, social activists, retired engineers, motor pump manufacturers and other professionals to evolve a lasting solution to the water logging problem.
Though the panel submitted a list of suggestions, the civic body failed to take steps to implement them. R Raveendran, Secretary of the Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC) who was a member of the panel told TNIE that they conducted a detailed study on the matter for 6 months using their own money and submitted a comprehensive report to sort out issues in all the subways and railway underpasses, but the civic body did not implement them citing shortage of funds.
“Some of the works that were suggested are going on now. There are already plans for sorting out the issue. The civic body just needs to execute them. We have asked for an appointment with the new CCMC Commissioner to explain in detail the solutions we had suggested. We are ready to make changes to the plan if needed. All that CCMC must do is give priority and allocate funds,” he added.
Speaking to TNIE, CCMC Commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran said, “We have inspected four subways where water logging was significant. As an immediate remedy, I’ve directed officials to keep the motor pumps ready near the subways. The flow of water in the subways is very high during heavy rains. And we can’t pump all that water out. So, as a permanent solution, we need to build deep wells nearby and for that, we’ve identified a railway land nearby. We shall hold talks with them and build one soo.”