Civic body blames Anna University for flooding Gandhi Mandapam road

The Gandhi Mandapam road, which cuts through Kottupuram to connect Cenotaph road flyover at one end and the Sardar Patel road on the other, was heavily inundated after 10 cm rainfall was recorded in the span of a few hours Monday. "The storm water drain on Gandhi Mandapam road does not have the capacity to carry excess let off from the two campuses," pointed out an official.

While Madras varsity officials offered no comment, Anna varsity officials reacted sharply to the corporation stance. “The slope from the university campus to the road is a natural one,” said V.K. Stalin, Anna University estate officer.

The university's 190-acre area lets out around 30 percent of rainfall collected within it, Stalin noted. “We have set up rain water harvesting wells inside the campus and have created a deep excavated artificial pond too, which is now brimming with water after the rain,” he said.

“Our outlets drain water into the Buckingham Canal. So, the accusation is pointless,” Stalin added. On Monday evening, vehicles were stranded for the entirety of the stretch for hours together as stagnant water rose to hip level. Residents living along the Adyar river bank too spent the night out on the road, as water from the gushing river entered their low-lying homes.

Motorists were seen dragging their vehicles through the stagnant water on to higher levels of the road while a few cars stalled leading to total chaos on manic Monday.