Velachery Residents Urge Immediate Desilting of MRTS Culverts to Avert Flooding

Chennai:As the northeast monsoon is only months away, Velachery residents have appealed to the government to immediately desilt two blocked culverts beneath the railway track near Velachery MRTS station, warning that continued neglect could trigger flooding in several residential neighbourhoods.

In a petition addressed to Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Wednesday, the AGS Colony Residents Welfare Association (ACRWA) said the stormwater channel and the two culverts maintained by the state highways department are heavily clogged with silt, vegetation, water hyacinth, debris and other obstructions, severely restricting the free flow of rainwater.

According to the association, the culverts form a crucial hydraulic link carrying surplus water from Velachery lake and Veerangal Odai beneath the MRTS corridor. Any reduction in their carrying capacity, it said, could cause water to back up into residential areas, including AGS Colony, Vijaya Nagar, Ram Nagar, Saraswathi Nagar, Andal Nagar and surrounding localities during moderate to heavy rainfall.

“The entire channel and both culverts are presently heavily choked with silt, vegetation, debris and other obstructions, severely restricting the free flow of stormwater. This poses a serious flood risk to several residential neighbourhoods,” said Geetha Ganesh, secretary of the association, in their representation.

The residents also pointed out that desilting operations had been carried out before MRTS services were extended to St. Thomas Mount. However, they alleged that similar maintenance was not undertaken after regular train services commenced on the extended stretch in March this year.

Expressing apprehensions over the approaching northeast monsoon, the association cautioned that failure to restore the culverts’ full carrying capacity could result in severe inundation, affecting thousands of residents and causing damage to public and private property.

“We, therefore, earnestly request the state highways department to immediately desilt and remove all obstructions from the stormwater channel and both the culverts, and establish a periodic maintenance schedule before every northeast monsoon to prevent recurrence of blockages,” the petition stated.

The representation has also been sent to the minister for highways, senior officials of the highways and municipal administration departments, Greater Chennai Corporation, and other local authorities, seeking coordinated action before the onset of the monsoon to prevent flooding in the area.