Tamil Nadu: No new UGD work should be taken up this month, Tiruchy corporation tells contractors

TIRUCHY: An emergency meeting convened recently by the city corporation directed contractors not to take up underground drainage (UGD) work at any new location this month, considering the onset of the northeast monsoon in the State. "This month they (the contractors) have to focus on finishing ongoing work in sites. They cannot take up UGD work at any new street or location this month.

We took the decision as such work would cause a lot of inconvenience to residents during the rainy season," a senior corporation official said. The decision comes in the wake of the civic body receiving requests seeking regulations on UGD work during the monsoon, sources said.

Meanwhile, officials pointed out that about 70 per cent of UGD work in the city has been completed and said the remaining work is likely to be over by March 2023. The decision at the emergency meeting on Tuesday would not push the deadline for UGD work completion further, senior officials said.

"Even if they (the contractors) don’t commence work at new sites this month, it would not affect the work progress. They can still complete the project on time by allocating more workers or going for a round-the-clock work schedule in the next month," a corporation engineer said.

Further, officials said that the civic body would have another meeting in the last week of this month to decide whether to extend the ongoing regulations to December.

"We host monsoon-related meetings regularly. We would, therefore, consider lifting the existing regulations in the last week of November. Also, our officials would hold surprise inspections at UGD sites to ensure that the contractors are following necessary safety measures, including barricading of worksites," an official said.