Chennai: To rejuvenate Kosasthalaiyar river and prevent flooding due to choking of drainages, the Tamil Nadu government on Saturday announced that it was planning to construct drains across the catchment areas of the river by spending a whopping Rs 1,887 crore.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said the project, which will be executed with financial assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), is being planned as part of the efforts to prevent flooding in Chennai and surrounding areas.
“A detailed project report (DPR) is being prepared to develop permanent drains across the catchment areas of Kosasthalaiyar river with the assistance of Jica at an estimated cost of Rs 1,887 crore. Likewise, the government is also preparing DPR for building drains in Kovalam area at a cost of Rs 1,234 crore,” Palaniswami told reporters here on Saturday.
While speaking to reporters about the recent rains, Palaniswami said rampant urbanization has meant little space for rainwater to drain by itself resulting in water logging in several low-lying areas. “These buildings have not come now, but have existed for long and drainages have been designed to drain rain water up to 4 cm. Not just in Chennai, but across the globe, if there is excess rain, the rain water would drain through the roads and hence low-lying areas get flooded,” he said.
He said late J. Jayalalithaa had granted Rs 1,101 crore to construct stormwater drain for a length of 386 km. “Work on 300 km has been completed and work on the remaining 86 km is also on the full swing,” Palaniswami said.
Ensure no waterlogging in low-lying areas: CM to officials
With Met department and weather bloggers predicting more northeast monsoon rains in the coming weeks, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Saturday reviewed monsoon preparedness and instructed officials to ensure that waterlogging is prevented in all low-lying areas across the city by taking necessary precautions.
Palaniswami also said the state government has sent a detailed report to the Union government about the damages caused to city's infrastructure due to last week's rains and expressed optimism that the Narendra Modi-led dispensation would be generous in allotting funds for augmentation of civic infrastructure to prevent water logging. The Chief Minister had briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the damages on Monday last when the latter was in the city.
Briefing journalists after the review meeting with deputy chief minister O. Panneerselvam, senior ministers and top officials, Palaniswami said the government had pressed into service almost all ministers and senior officials across the city and its suburbs after the last week's rain and restored normalcy within just a day.
“We discussed ways to react during the northeast monsoon seasons and I have advised and directed officials to ensure that water is removed from low-lying areas across the city almost immediately after the rains. Amma's Government ensured that water does not get stagnated in low-lying areas due to its alertness last week,” Palaniswami told reporters at Fort St George, the secretariat.
The Tamil Nadu Government has appointed senior IAS officers as nodal officers for each district to oversee monsoon preparedness and ensure that relief reaches the affected almost immediately. The state government has also kept ready 115 cyclone relief centres to house people moved from low-lying areas across the state.
To a specific question that the government allotted funds for desilting of lakes in Chennai and neighbouring districts only after the rains had begun, the chief minister dismissed it saying the government had allotted funds for such purposes well in advance. “Everyone knows that rain water was pumped out from almost all areas immediately and as far as Chennai city is concerned, ministers and officials joined the relief work in all 15 zones of the metropolis and worked to end sufferings of the common man,” the chief minister said.
Noting that more than 75 per cent of rains that Tamil Nadu gets during the three-month long monsoon have been received in just five days, Palaniswami asserted that the government was able to save water in water bodies due to its earlier decision of desilting them.
The chief minister also said the damage due to rains would be assessed only after the monsoon drifts away from Tamil Nadu in December end.
