Chennai: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Sunday warned that climate change could lead to cloudburst-like situation in Chennai and the city’s flood prevention and storm water drainage infrastructure should be improved.

In a statement here, Anbumani said in the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am Sunday, several parts of Chennai received rainfall of an intensity comparable to a cloudburst. For more than five years, the PMK had been warning that climate change could lead to cloudburst-like situations in Chennai and that the city's flood-prevention and stormwater drainage infrastructure must be strengthened to deal with them.

He said there is also a risk of the situation worsening this year due to the impact of El Niño. Climate change, which is threatening the world, could cause impacts beyond anyone's imagination. The recommendations made by the committee headed by disaster-management expert Thirupugazh are particularly important.

However, even after 43 months, the report has still not been made public. The previous DMK government had stated that the Thirupugazh Committee's report contained a total of 161 recommendations and that 101 of them were being implemented.

No one knows what those 161 recommendations were or which 101 recommendations had actually been implemented. The government must release the Thirupugazh Committee's report and based on its recommendations, strengthen Chennai's flood-prevention and stormwater drainage infrastructure, he said.


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