Chennai: First spell of rain sees drains turn into rivers

CHENNAI: Morning-walkers on Friday were bemused to find the new storm water drains in Chennai filled with rain water after a steady spell of overnight showers.
Storm water drains in KK Nagar's Ashok Pillar Road, Anna Main Road, Rajamannar Salai, and Raja Muthiah Road in Vepery, Kasturba Nagar in Adyar and Ramanujam Street in Old Washermenpet were filled with water. Although the roads did not flood, residents said they fear the worst might be around the corner if the rain is continuous.
Chennai Mayor R Priya had earlier this week said over 200 missing links of drains were yet to be fixed. Since these missing links are not connected, water flow will surely get obstructed. On Friday, the corporation brought in motor-pumps to remove water from pits.
Some residents were a worried lot. Suresh Subramanian of United Residents Association in Ambattur's Thiruvengadam Nagar said there were plenty of missing links surrounding the area. "Since these were just overnight drizzles, the stagnated water gradually seeped into the ground. The areas in Ambattur would flood if there were heavy rains," he said.
Some roads in KK Nagar such as RK Shanmugam Salai, Lakshama Swamy Salai, PT Rajan Salai and Ashok Pillar Road have missing drain links, apart from street encroachments.
Advocate and activist N Vishwanathan from KK Nagar said since it was only drizzling, the pits got inundated and water did not overflow onto the road. "If there is a downpour, the entire KK Nagar area would flood. Majority of the minor drains are not connected to the MGR canal," he said.
Chief engineer S Rajendiran said they were expediting the missing-link connection work and it would be finished by the end of October.