Wall to protect Ambattur and Korattur from flooding

CHENNAI: The Chennai Corporation will be building a 13.80 crore worth ‘Smart Flood Protection Wall’ from Ambattur to a railway portion in Korattur, to prevent inundation in these areas.

The construction of the flood protection wall will help prevent flooding in the areas of Korattur, Pattravakam, Ambattur and Ambattur SIDCO Industrial Estate.

This comes after Southern Railways has accorded permission for carrying out the construction of flood protection wall in the railway portion by Greater Chennai Corporation without any lease payment.

It is learnt that Chennai Corporation is thinking of introducing smart elements like placing of sensors which can detect effluents if any discharged, by the industries situated in Ambattur that are polluting the Korattur lake.

It is learnt that the release of effluent by industries illegally, has been a cause of concern for officials and residents. Sources say that the sensors will generate alarm if they trace any effluents and this will be passed on to the Integrated Command and Control Centre which will be connected to the wall.

As a result, action could be taken against such industries through Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

By construction of this flood protection wall, spread of water to wide span covering Railway arch and adjoining area of 25 metres to 30 metres, will be reduced to four metres by which the water flow can be streamlined, sources added.

This will result in preserving the eco system of the water body as well as preventing flooding in Chennai city. Moreover, mosquito menace problem and other health hazards will be considerably reduced. This project is one of the Disaster Management components of Smart City Proposal.

Initially, the project was facing hurdles following a tussle between the State and Southern Railways.