The Storm Water Drains department of Greater Chennai Corporation has recently done a massive storm water drain work under the “Missing Links” project. The last remaining unconnected sections of the storm water drain in the city have been connected.
These missing links have been done based on the feedback provided by the Flood Monitoring Officers after the 2015 floods.
The 2015 floods brought Chennai to its knees. The damage to human life was high and the damage to infrastructure was significantly high. Some pegged these losses at about Rs 60000 Crores. The impact of the rains became worse due to a rare combination of factors. One of the major factors identified were in-complement links in the storm water drains and also old and dilapidated brick masonry storm water drains that had collapsed due to age. Some of them were simple inadequate in size.
During this time the Government of Tamilnadu appointed IAS Officers as flood monitoring officers for relief work. Some of these areas were overseen by politicians. These vulnerable areas were identified and assessed by the Engineers of the Storm Water Drain department headed by Mr L Nandakumar, Superintending Engineer. Detailed estimates were prepared and some work was taken as part of the capital expenditure and the rest has been done by assistance from the Chennai Smart City Limited.
The notable areas where work has been taken up under the “Missing Links” project are:
- MRC Nagar
- Chamiers Road
- Kannan Roundtana
- Iyyan Thiruvalluvar Salai
- Kargil Nagar
Flood Prevention in MRC Nagar
Mayor Ramanathan Chettiyar or MRC Nagar is prone to flooding by virtue of its proximity to the Adyar Creek and the Bay of Bengal. One of the issues identified was the absence of the flooding link in Sathyadev Avenue.
For those familiar with the area, it would have been a common observation to see this road flooded even during normal rains.
The flood monitoring officer of the region was Mr K Balasubramanium IAS. The storm water drain in Sathyadev Avenue is built to a length of 400m with size 1.2 m by 1.2 m.
The storm water drain built has been flushed to the road level to prevent any undulation in the street. This has been highly appreciated and well received by the residents of MRC Nagar.
Preventing Flooding in Chamiers Road
Chamiers Road connecting Nadanam Junction to Alwarpet did not have any storm water drain till 2015 floods. This led to severe flooding and stagnation. The area was assessed by the Storm Water Drain Department engineers and a Storm Water Drain was implemented. This is expected to reduce stagnation in the road and hence will not allow the water to get into the adjacent properties.
Flood Prevention in Kannan Roundtana
Construction of storm water drain along Kannan Rountana from Kannan Rountana to Bojaraja nagar to a length of 235 m of size 1.20 x 1.80. The Flood Monitoring Officer of the region was Mr Umanath IAS.
Flood Prevention in Iyyan Thiruvalluvar Salai
Demolition and Re-construction of Storm Water Drain along Iyyan Thiruvalluvar Nagar from Santhosh Nagar 5th street to Surapet main road to a length of 1450 m of size 2.0 x 2.0.
All the projects completed by the Storm Water Drain Project are inspected for quality implementation by an Ex-Chief Engineer Cadre official.
Flood Prevention in Kargil Nagar
This project involved the construction of storm water drain along Kargil Nagar from B Canal Service road to Bathavatchalam street, Rajaji Nagar to a length of 1100 m of size 1.20 m x 1.00 m.
The Flood Monitoring Officer of this region was Mr Nandakumar IAS.
All the above initiatives will significantly reduce flooding and stagnation challenges across the City.
