CHENNAI: After much delay, the Rs 70 crore project to prevent flooding in the southern suburbs of Varadharajapuram and Mudichur is expected to begin soon. The Public Works Department (PWD) has finalised the contractor and is waiting for the final nod from the government.
In Chennai, heavy rains during the northeast monsoon would cause water from Adyar river to overflow into residential areas of Tambaram, Varadharajapuram and Mudichur, as the existing bund is damaged.
Under flood mitigation measures, PWD proposed the project in 2018. The reasons for the delay in implementing the project are attributed to the pandemic and delay in government’s approval.
“Through the `70 crore project, a bypass channel would be built from the Somangalam tributary to the Adyar river to decrease inundation at Mudichur and Varadharajapuram, besides the widening of the river,” said an official from the Public Works Department.
Sources said retaining walls would be built along the flood prone areas. A 13-kilometer stretch of the river will be deepened by 2 meters. During 2015 floods, the areas were completely submerged under water. Some streets had water logging to the level of 15 feet.
Earlier this year, after heavy rains due to cyclone Nivar, Mudichur and Varadharajapuram got inundated.
One of the residents at Varadarajapuram, Stanley George, said the residents started getting used to knee-deep water in the area. “During 2015 floods, lives were lost. During 2016,there was neck deep water and during Nivar, there was hip-deep water. Whenever it rains, our areas get flooded, forcing us to move out of the place till rains subside,” he said.
According to residents, one of the main reasons for flooding, especially when water is released from the Chembarambakkam reservoir into Adyar river, is unscientific construction of bund. The height of the bund is very high in some places and very low in some. Due to this, areas like Mahalakshmi Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Bhuvaneshwari Nagar and Shanti Niketan Nagar often get flooded.