Coimbatore: In a pleasant surprise, the city areas that usually get inundated during rain were free from waterlogging on Tuesday night, despite heavy rain.
The credit goes to the city corporation, which had been taking various measures, including creation of additional drains and desilting of drains, to prevent waterlogging.
ARC underpass at Sivanandha Colony: Waterlogging at ARC underpass is usually caused by the heavy water flow from Mettupalayam Road, Sivananda Colony Road and Gandhiji Road.S R Savitha, assistant executive engineer with the corporation (west zone), told TOI that after buses got inundated in the underpass during the previous spell, they had started work on installing precast storm water drain on a war footing. "We have covered a distance of 15 meters and the work is now pending for just three metres. It is being built to carry a larger quantum of water."
North Coimbatore subway: The channels that drain water from the North Coimbatore were desilted ahead of monsoon. Nevertheless, rainwater accumulated in the subway and stagnated for a couple of hours. However, the situation was far better than in the previous spell. Corporation officials acted swiftly and cleared the water. North zone chairman V Kathirvel said motor pump sets were deployed to suck out water. Kaleeswara Mills Road, Ramanathapuram Junction and Sunganallur bus stand didn't report waterlogging at all.
Lanka Corner: Hemalatha, assistant executive engineer with the corporation (central zone), attributed the waterlogging in Lanka Corner to blockage in drain. "We desilted the drain with the help of a super sucker truck overnight. Sanitary workers were also deployed to clear blocks," she said explaining the reason for a dry Lanka Corner on Wednesday morning. Additional motors were also deployed to pump out the stagnating water, she said.
Avinashi Road subway: Water from Nanjappa Road and Addis Street and that drains from the flyover is the main reason for waterlogging at Avinashi Road subway. The civic body has deployed about eight superpower motors to pump out water from the subway. Additional motors are expected to arrive by Thursday from Chennai and Pune to tackle the situation. These motors are designed to run using generators without interruption when there is a power cut. In future, precast storm water drain would divert the water from flowing into the subway, a corporation official said. In addition, more drain holes are being dug along the subway for easy percolation of water into earth.
Kikani school underpass: Water from Dr Krishnasamy Mudaliyar Road and Patel Road flows towards the underpass near Kikani school. High-suction motors are placed here as well. Work on additional drain holes along the Dr Krishnasamy Mudaliyar Road was carried out on Wednesday. Blocks in the existing drain holes were also cleared, facilitating quicker draining of rainwater.