CHENNAI: With the onset of the Northeast monsoon round the corner, Chief Minister, Mr. Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday launched several flood mitigation projects on the outskirts of Greater Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts, which will help to both avert floods and conserve water in the event of exceptionally heavy rainfall.
The projects completed at a cost of Rs 68.60 crore were formally inaugurated by Mr. Palaniswami at the State Secretariat here on behalf of Revenue and Disaster Management department. He also launched several new government buildings and housing units for government staff on the occasion in various districts.
The flood mitigation projects are part of a massive Rs 100 crore scheme the Chief Minister announced under Rule 110 of the Tamil Nadu Assembly in June last year to help minimize the damage and dislocations to the general public, industries, transport infrastructure including roads and to educational institutions from any excessive flooding during the monsoons, an official release said. The projects are significant in the backdrop of the deluge Chennai faced in December 2015.
The flood-prevention projects include construction of underground viaducts to carry excess flood waters in very vulnerable areas of the southern suburbs including the stretch from Mudichur road junction to Paapaan canal, from Narayanapuram lake to Pallikaranai marsh in south Chennai at a total cost of Rs 40 crore, besides building similar evacuation structures near Aadhanur lake and Paapaan canal, the release said.
In the Adyar river basin, the flood-mitigation projects including de-silting of lakes and canals besides constructing storm water drains have been carried at Nandhivaram, Nanmangalam, New Tambaram and Irumbuliyur lakes, besides de-silting and strengthening of banks at Manimangalam lake, and deepening of lakes at Adhanur, Guduvanchery and Urapakkam, besides another lake near Kovalam.
A long storm-water drain linking Urapakkam and Nandhivaram lakes and regularising excess water flow from Thirunindravur lake are also among the projects that have been taken up, the release said.
These projects will cumulatively help protect six lakh people in the southern suburbs of Chennai including Thambaram, Perungulathur, Mudichur, Varadarajapuram, Selaiyur and Pallikaranai from possible floods during monsoons, the release said, adding, they would pave way for storing 172 mcft of excess rainwater.
State ministers including S.P. Velumani, R.B. Udayakumar and P Benjamin, besides top officials were present on the occasion.
