Rs 200 crore for flood mitigation in T Nagar down drain?

For the second consecutive day, the GN Chetty Road , an arterial road, which is also covered under the area-based development of the Smart Cities Mission, was waterlogged.
T Nagar
T Nagar

CHENNAI: Though a whopping Rs 200 crore has been spent to mitigate floods in T Nagar under the Smart Cities Mission in the last three years, the city’s first monsoon showers seem to have pushed that money down the drain. A large portion of these funds were spent on the area-based development project.

In T Nagar, the Chennai corporation had spent over Rs 110 crore to construct stormwater drains during 2019-2021 and under area-based development of the Smart Cities Mission, nearly Rs 80 crore was spent to restore the Mambalam canal to help divert rainwater in the area to mitigate floods.

However, these expensive projects turned out to be in vain as the Corporation staff are now forced to remove the bunds which were constructed as part of  the Mambalam restoration project to enable draining of water. Officials said it was a temporary measure and the bunds will be reconstructed after the rains.

For the second consecutive day, the GN Chetty Road , an arterial road, which is also covered under the area-based development of the Smart Cities Mission, was waterlogged. “We thought the water would have drained off GN Chetty Road today as it has in the rest of the city but it hasn’t. I hope it drains off quickly because I take that road to work everyday,” said local resident Guruprasad K.

41 boats on standby, says corporation chief
Chennai: The city corporation has 41 boats stationed in various areas of the city to carry out rescue operations if necessary, Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi told reporters on Monday. The boats will be available at least until November 13. To avoid residents going out unnecessarily during the rains and prevent untoward incidents, the commissioner asked residents to stock up on essentials like bread, vegetables and rice needed for the family.

“It was also brought to my notice that 1913 helpline was busy yesterday when residents tried to contact us. So, we have upgraded from nine lines to 30 lines so that 30 calls can be answered at once,” Bedi said.
The corporation has received 1592 flood-related complaints so far.

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