CHENNAI: To check flooding in the monsoon, the Greater Chennai Corporation has begun pumping out water from canals that drain into lakes in and around the city. Normally the canals such as those at Velachery and Mambalam hold water at nearly the same level as the waterbodies they drain into. So during heavy rain, there is no place for water to flow and residential areas are flooded. Chief engineer S Rajendiran, said that as most of Chennai is just one metre above sea level, floods result when heavy rain lashes the city for even a short time.
“If the drains and canals are full, there will be reverse flow as the sea level also rises. So we decided to first remove all the water stagnating in these canals that empty into major lakes. We are closing the inlet points of lakes where these canals drain with sand bags and are using amphibian machines and other pumps to remove the water. This way, the canals would be ready to carry more rainwater,” he said.
Apart from this, the civic body is working to ensure there is no damage to life and property in case of a flood-like situation. The weatherman has predicted very heavy rainfall for at least a week from November 01.
“We are prepared with men and machinery and with IAS officers monitoring at the zonal level, the entire coordination will be much better. The command and control centre will come in handy for inter-departmental coordination,” said a senior corporation official.
Apart from this, more than 700km of the 1,894km stormwater drain network have been desilted. The civic body has set up cameras at river mouths and major canals to get real time alerts on rise in water levels.
“The revenue department, public works department, forest department have all held meetings with our officials and have briefed on the prepared -ness. We will form teams at the zonal levels in case of any flood-like situation,” said an engineer from the stormwater drain department.