Okkiyam Maduvu Project To Be Major Gamechanger For S. Chennai
During the floods, the residents also park their cars in the nearby flyovers to save the vehicles from getting ruined.
Chennai:The Okkiyam Maduvu drain, a major project to drain the floods in Velachery, Perumbakkam and Pallikaranai, is nearing completion. The Okkiyam Maduvu is only 2.65 km long, but it is a major flood water channel linking the Pallikaranai marshland to the Buckingham canal.
During the northeast monsoon season, most of the areas in Velachery, Perumbakkam and Pallikaranai get flooded. As water enters the residential areas, people have to be rescued in boats and most of them go to their relatives’ house or other places during heavy rains.
During the floods, the residents also park their cars in the nearby flyovers to save the vehicles from getting ruined. Valuable household articles get spoilt when water enters the house. The people of these areas have been demanding a permanent solution to their woes.
In 2024, the Okkiyam Maduvu was covered with water plants blocking the flow of water. The ministers and other officials who inspected the Maduvu came to the conclusion that its expansion will be a major solution to floods in south Chennai and the suburbs. The government also decided to dig a channel through the patta land owned by a private college near the water body. Proper compensation or alternative land will be provided to the owner of the patta land.
The rainwater usually flows from Velachery, Pallikaranai and Perumbakkam to the Okkiyam Maduvu which takes the water to Buckingham canal, which is one of the major channels to drain the water into the sea. The water flows to Muttukkadu and to Kovalam estuary where it drains into the sea. However, the sea level rises during the rainy season and the water enters the sea very slowly, taking much time to drain the floods.
The Okkiyam Maduvu is being restored at a budget of Rs. 27 crore. This project will also check the backflow effect of water which floods the areas in Madipakkam and Ram Nagar. In the Sholinganallur zone, the active water opening has been widened to 98 metres from 10 metres to enable smooth and fast flow of water into the Buckingham canal.
The wider WRD also plans to remove over 2 lakh cubic meters of silt to deepen critical stretches by 2 metres, besides a flood retaining wall for 520 metres to avoid flooding in areas like Kannagi Nagar.
The Okkiyam Maduvu project will be above the sea water level and allows water to flow quickly, enabling the draining of the floods. The areas in Perungudi, Thoraipakkam, Semmencherry and the low-lying areas along the Old Mahabalipuram Road will also benefit from the project.
The water flowing into the drain will run through areas between Old Mahabalipuram Road and East Coast Road. The drain will enter the sea near the VGP Universal Kingdom, at Injambakkam. It will also take the floods of Perungudi, Semmenchery and the areas along the Old Mahabalipuram Road, providing a major solution to flooding during the monsoon.