Residents living along the Otteri Nullah, a minor waterway that links floodwater to the Buckingham canal, want it to be cleaned ahead of the northeast monsoon.
The 12 km waterway passes through Anna Nagar, Purasawalkam, Otteri and drains into the Buckingham canal near the Basin Bridge. Residents of Anna Nagar complain that the canal flowing through the 6th Avenue has been reduced to a dump. J. Babu, a resident of 3rd Avenue, said tree branches and garbage on the stretch of the canal obstructs water flow. This has also become breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Areas around B Sector in Anna Nagar Western Extension are often flooded during the rains as the Otteri Nullah does not have enough capacity to carry floodwater. A. Chockalingam, secretary of B Sector Residents’ Welfare Association, said while people of other areas are concerned about the canal turning a dump, residents of Anna Nagar Western Extension fear water logging during monsoon as the waterway is too narrow to carry floodwater.
“Unless the Otteri Nullah is widened, areas near Park Road cannot escape inundation,” he said.
Overgrown vegetation
Residents of Purasawalkam also complained about overgrown vegetation and floating garbage in the Otteri Nullah near Bricklin Road. H. Premanand, a resident, recalled that there was an attempt to clear garbage on the stretch near Purasawalkam about six months ago.
However, the canal remains neglected and covered with plastic waste. Besides taking stringent measures against those who dump garbage, the departments concerned must initiate periodical cleaning of the canal.
Meanwhile, the Water Resources Department plans to prioritise desilting of city waterways and execute the pre-monsoon exercise wherever necessary.
Every year, the department desilts waterways in the city ahead of the northeast monsoon to ensure free flow of floodwater. However, this year, the work would be prioritised and machinery engaged to desilt vulnerable portions.
The major waterways, Cooum and Adyar rivers, are being periodically cleaned.
“As there was not much of rain last year, other waterways may not require much desilting,” an official said.