Civic officials sleep over drain projects

Chennai: Residents of Maduravoyal, Velachery, Saidapet and Sholinganallur are upset with the corporation and Chennai metro water for not completing the stormwater and sewer drain works.

“The issue was raised in the Assembly by local MLAs, but there is no prompt action by the corporation and metro water making these areas again vulnerable for monsoon floods,” said M. Subramanian, former mayor and Saidapet MLA.
Despite suffering the worst flood during last December, the civic authorities are yet to realise their mistakes and there is no improvement in the maintenance of drains in south Chennai, he said.

Irked over the delay in drain projects, Maduravoyal residents’ welfare association had also shot a petition last week to Chennai corporation and Chennai metro water complaining that about 25,000 families will be affected if the monsoon is above normal this season.

According to local resident B. Varadharajan, both stormwater and sewer works in the area have been stalled for months due to encroachments in Dasari Padma Nagar and Madha Avenue in Maduravoyal.

Local corporation authorities and revenue officers have failed to evict the encroachments and in the process public are prone to floods and denied access to roads, he said.

“Tashildars are the ones to be blamed and there is no eviction of encroachments in the recent past after the December floods. Suburban Mangadu is a perfect example that suffers encroachments and land grabs are done right under the nose of revenue officials”, said Wing Commander (retired) S.T. Perumal, president, Mangadu Residents Welfare Association.       

When contacted a senior corporation official maintained that desilting with existing stormwater drains has been completed by 90 per cent and the public are talking about the pending new drain works designed and taken up in the wake of last year floods. There are also complaints about the new drainage connections and the Chennai metro water handles these projects, the official added.