Only 33 per cent work done on desilting drains

Chennai: Even as the northeast monsoon fast approaches, the city remains unprepared as civic officials say that over one-third of the work in terms of construction of stormwater drains and de-silting major drainage is yet to be completed.

They either pass the buck on other department officials or blame it on rain for acting spoilsport in the civic activities. However, water experts feel that enough funds have not been transferred to prepare the city’s water bodies for the northeast monsoon. “Budget allocation has not been done to de-silt waterbodies,” opined Jayaram Venkitesan, Convenor of Arappor Iyakkam, a non-governmental organisation working to reclaim  water bodies in the city.

“Regarding stormwater drain, the major concern is the limited connectivity as it covers only 1,600-1,800 km. Unfortunately, at some places like Vilivakkam and T Nagar the construction has not started yet. I am not sure if the city would be cent per cent prepared for this monsoon,” he added.

“Work has been halted, in many parts, due to intermittent rain  which continues for a week,” said an official of Greater Chennai Corporation. “In most areas, drains are yet to be constructed. Another irony is that they are not closed properly, facilitating easy blockages. This ultimately doesn’t serve the purpose as it would lead to water logging and pollutes water bodies,” said Samhitha S, a resident of Ekattuthangal.

Echoing the same, Selvam of Guindy said: “Drains are left open and roads are filled with debris and silt. They have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.”
 If this is the case, suburban residents feel they are left out as works are still underway. “In Pallavaram municipality, the work is shoddy. A lot has to be done yet”, says V. Santhanam, social activist.