Residents of the suburban areas along the banks of the Adyar have demanded better civic infrastructure for flood control.
When the Central team toured the suburbs on Monday to assess the damage caused by the recent rain, representatives of residents’ association submitted petitions to it requesting flood mitigation projects in their area and pointed to the delay in the implementation of projects after the 2015 floods.
Over 1.5 lakh people live in areas such as Varadharajapuram and Mudichur along the banks of the Adyar. They are prone to be affected by floods whenever large quantum of water is released from the Chembarambakkam tank.
Federation of Varadharajapuram Welfare Associations president V. Rajasekaran said when the Adyar was in spate recently, there was water up to three feet level inside the houses. “The water level was five feet high on the roads. Many residents gathered to speak to members of the Central team on Monday. We demanded a permanent solution to the problem of flooding,” said Mr. Rajasekaran.
Varadharajapuram village panchayat in Kancheepuram district has a population of more than 25,000.
Prone to flooding
Residential layouts formed with the approval of town planning authorities many decades ago in the area, including Bhuvaneswari Nagar, Royappa Nagar, Asthalakshmi Nagar and Selva Nagar, were flooded during the rain. Many of these localities had water up to 10 feet level during the 2015 floods, the residents said.
On November 11 and 12, Varadharajapuram had water up to five feet. The temporary measures taken at the behest of Chief Minister M. K. Stalin after his visit to the area had brought some relief, the residents said.
Residents demanded redesigning of the bridge on Outer Ring Road across the Adyar in Varadharajapuram.
Dhamodaran, former president of Mudichur panchayat, said the residents had demanded drains in Madhanapuram leading to the Adyar. “Residents want a drain across Outer Ring Road near Amudham Nagar,” he said.
Located in Chengalpattu district, Mudichur panchayat was affected when the Adyar was in spate.
A proper study was sought to find engineering solutions to improve the carrying capacity of the Adyar and to prevent flooding. People complained to the team that many projects implemented in the past few years had not been based on a comprehensive study. The government should explore the possibility of deepening and widening the river under the guidance of a team of experienced engineers, the residents said.