COIMBATORE: With several subways and railway underpasses inundated following rain forcing officials to announce traffic diversion, public and social activists appealed to Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) to install motor pumps permanently in localities that are prone to waterlogging.
Two vehicles got stuck in water-logged subways in the last two days. The civic body used high-powered motor pumps to bale out water and cleared the passage. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.
Last year, the civic body formed a Disaster Management Advisory Panel comprising experts, architects, social activists, and retired engineers, to prepare an action plan to prevent or tackle water logging. The panel had submitted a list of suggestions, but the civic body allegedly did not implement them.
Secretary of the Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC) R Raveendran, who was a member of the panel, told TNIE that the panel conducted a detailed study for six months and submitted a comprehensive report to sort out issues in all the subways and railway underpasses, but the civic body shelved that report.
“We suggested measures which included desilting the stormwater drains and channels and installing high-power motor pumps. A pump manufacturer volunteered to provide the solutions. Each spot would need only around Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore for a permanent solution. But a majority of our suggestions were not implemented citing fund crunch. Now that the financial situation has improved, the civic body must implement them before the monsoon,” he added.
Commissioner M Prathap said, “The majority of the suggestions made by the panel are not scientific measures. However, we took a leaf or two from it. After desilting works near the Kikani junction, waterlogging has been reduced. We will be constructing a drain near the Lanka Corner junction to stop the inundation of the subway. Currently, we have all motor pumping rooms in working condition and have been using the motor-pump-fitted trucks additionally. Recently, the railway underpasses near Kavundampalayam have reported waterlogging issues. We shall check the pumping room there and take necessary action to prevent inundation in the future.”