CHENNAI: With rain clouds hovering over the city, officials are ensuring the pending monsoon works across the city get over by September 15 just before the monsoon starts. Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena has urged Chennai Corporation to prioritise stormwater drain works taken up under the State Disaster Mitigation Fund at a cost of Rs 232 crore.
Chairing a recent meeting last week, which was held to review recommendations of ‘Advisory committee on mitigation and management of flood risk in Chennai Metro’, the chief secretary urged the officials that work on the areas which are vulnerable to inundation should be completed by September 15. The state constituted the committee in December 2021 under the chairmanship of Dr V Thiruppugazh, which recommended flood mitigation measures. Sources said that Meena also reviewed the status of stormwater drain works being undertaken in the Kosasthalaiyar basin, which is backed by the Asian Development Bank, Kovalam basin and works carried under the SDMF.
The cause of concern during the meeting was the delay by contractors in taking up silt catch pit work along the newly laid stormwater drain projects. In many of the drain packages, silt catch pit work is yet to begin. A catch pit is an empty chamber that is installed into a drainage system to prevent silt and debris from building up. Catchpits are essential in preventing pipe blockages, which would result in the backing up of water in the drainage system.
Sources said Meena instructed all contractors to take up the construction of the silt catch pit and rainwater harvesting work simultaneously after the completion of stormwater drain work in the city. Instructions have also been given to remove hyacinths from waterways in Chennai city with modern machinery to ensure the free flow of water in the waterways.
The other concern has been the construction of an integrated stormwater drain network in Alandur, Perungudi and Sholinganallur. The delay is due to Tangedco which has to shift 569 electricity board pipes, 66 electricity board junction boxes, and 60 electricity board transformers on a war footing basis. Sources said Tangedco has been asked to finalise the standard estimates of shifting the poles so that construction of ISWD in the three zones could be taken up.
Sources said the functional capability of the drainage network leading to Buckingham Canal, Ennore backwaters, Muttukadu backwaters and Pallikaranai marshland ecosystem is crucial for the safe management of floods.