27 vulnerable areas identified ahead of northeast monsoon

Flood mitigation measures are on: District Monitoring Officer

Madurai

Ahead of the northeast monsoon, a total of 27 vulnerable areas have been identified in the district and flood mitigation measures are under way, said District Monitoring Officer B. Chandra Mohan, here on Tuesday.

He was addressing the mediapersons, along with Collector T.G. Vinay and Corporation Commissioner S. Visakan, after chairing a meeting to discuss the district’s preparedness ahead of the monsoon. Dr. Chandra Mohan also inspected various works that were undertaken as part of the preparedness ahead of the monsoon.

Out of the total vulnerable areas, 25 areas are within Madurai Corporation limits and the rest are in rural areas. Most of the areas are low-lying spots along the Vaigai. “The Corporation and the Highways Departments are constructing a retaining wall along the Vaigai as part of the Smart Cities Mission and this will help to reduce the vulnerability of the low-lying spots along the river,” he said.

A district disaster management plan has been prepared and multi-departmental committees have visited the vulnerable spots to identify the problems.

The 13 channels in the city are being desilted and garbage is being removed from them. “The Corporation has been instructed to prepare a detailed action plan to ensure that all the roads that are dug up under Smart Cities Mission are safe for public movement during the northeast monsoon,” he said.

With many works related to monsoon preparedness being completed, the remaining works will be finished before the onset of the monsoon, said the Monitoring Officer.

Mr. Visakan said that 10 ‘ooranis” (ponds) within the purview of the Corporation have been desilted and renovated ahead of the monsoon. Rainwater harvesting structures have been constructed at around 200 low-lying spots in the city.

The Collector said that all tanks and ponds were inspected. He said that defunct borewells were identified in rural areas to construct rainwater harvesting structures there.

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