GCC’s sluggish drain work puts Ambattur at flood risk

Chennai: More than 1,000 industries and several hundred residential neighbourhoods in Ambattur are at flood risk due to slow progress on storm water drain (SWD) work by Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) under the Kosasthalaiyar Basin project.
The surplus water from Ambattur Lake flows downstream to Korattur Lake via multiple storm water drains covering more than 5km.The water first reaches a canal at Manikkavinayagar Kovil Street, about 150metres from the Chennai bypass road. The lake discharges water at a rate of 1,800cusecs into this canal, but due to a lack of desilting and garbage pollution, nearby houses are vulnerable to flooding.
The water then moves through the First Cross Street, where several industries are located. GCC is supposed to replace an old 4ft drain with a new 5ft drain as part of the Kosasthalaiyar Basin SWD project. However, the corporation has left the SWD pits dug up, and no work was done for a week. In previous years, this street flooded due to the drain's limited capacity, leaving the road submerged in 3-4ft of water for nearly four days.
Further downstream, GCC is building another drain under the Third Main Road (beneath the Chennai bypass) connecting to the Korattur Railway Canal. While road cuts were made and precast drains placed, both sides have yet to be linked, and the drain along the Third Main Road still needs to be desilted.
Last year, similar delays caused flooding in several industries, with water levels reaching 4 feet. Former CAAIIUC Chairman V Vijayakumaran urged GCC to speed up work on the Third Main Road. "Drain work at the Cookson Road and Third Main Road junction should be completed at least by Wednesday, ahead of the monsoon onset," he said.
Members of AIEMA have coordinated with the Union Railways Ministry to clean the Korattur Canal to facilitate floodwater flow from Ambattur. GCC officials said that pending works will be finished by next week. "If the drain works are delayed due to rains, we will use motors to pump out water into the railway canal as a temporary solution," said an official from the Ambattur zone.