COIMBATORE: Subways on Avinashi road and in Coimbatore north were flooded within minutes of downpour on Monday. Motorists had a tough time flooded roads threw traffic out of gear.
Come monsoon, waterlogging is the major issue the city is experiencing for several years now. Even as the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) has deployed workers to unclog the flooded areas, residents suggest the civic body install automated motor pumps and establish recharging wells in the subways to drain the water.
They also lamented that the Avinashi road flyover and Coimbatore north flyover become a bottleneck during the rainy season as the vehicles are diverted towards it to avoid the flooded subways. According to C M Jayaraman, president of Citizens' Voice Coimbatore (CVC), the pumps installed to drain the subways are either in bad condition or poorly maintained. "A few years ago, we submitted a design to the civic body to install automated timer motor pumps to pump out rainwater from the subways. Shortly after the subways flood, these pumps start to work automatically. But, this idea was put on the back burner."
He complained the corporation is not providing a permanent solution to this waterlogging issue in subways. Unless the sediments are removed from the water channels in the subways, he said the flow will be blocked.
CGS Manion, founder of C4TN (Coimbatore for Tamil Nadu) said the width of the canal that runs towards Valankulam lake must be expanded. He also said the corporation could establish a sewage treatment plant to ensure the wastewater does not flow directly into the waterbody. "Residents must stop dumping waste in storm water drains as it blocks water flow and results in waterlogging," he added.
A motorist M Balasubramanian said, "Traffic snarls starts immediately after a shower at the flyovers and vehicular movement comes to a standstill. The city corporation had enough time during the lockdown to rectify the waterlogging issue by creating a proper water channel."
Speaking to TNIE, the director of The Rain Centre in Chennai, Sekhar Raghavan said the corporation could immerse recharge wells at major locations that witness waterlogging during a downpour. "Recharge wells can be immersed at 10 to 15 feet deep with a diameter of 3 feet. They can be covered with a perforated lid on top to ensure vehicles could ply without hindrance. This initiative could prevent major waterlogging," he said.
Asked how inundation of subways could be prevented, he said recharge wells could be immersed in the subway only if the groundwater table in the concerned location is below 30 feet.
When contacted, a senior official in the city corporation said the staff in the rapid response team were deployed at the Avinashi road flyover. There are four motors at the subway of Avinashi road flyover to pump out the rainwater, the official informed.