WRD chalks out plans to bridge missing links in waterways

Every monsoon, areas around Pallikaranai marshland are prone to flooding as many inadequacies in surplus courses and water channels await a solution. In a bid to bring respite in the next few years, the Water Resources Department has chalked out detailed projects to connect missing links. While some of the proposals are awaiting funding, the department is also engaged in feasibility study for a few other projects.

Surplus water from various groups of tanks in the upstream drain into the marshland through different routes. However, most of the surplus water spills over to the neighbourhood of Perumbakkam and Semmencheri as there is no defined route after DLF due to urbanisation.

Residents noted that some of the areas like Tsunami Nagar, Perumbakkam and Karanai were waterlogged during heavy rain last month. However, flooding was not as severe as it was in 2015 as WRD had taken up works to alleviate waterlogging, said Satish Galley, a resident of Semmencheri.

The surplus from Madurapakkam Odai, Ottiyambakkam Odai and Navalur group of tanks confluence at a point near the swamp. However, the place has been converted into a residential zone, creating missing links in draining water, officials of the WRD said. “It now takes five or six days for the waterlogging to reduce. We’re planning to connect the surplus water to the swamp through open drains or concrete channels,” he said .

There are plans to divert surplus water from Ottiyambakkam group of tanks through a two km channel to Arasankazhani Velanthangal tank before it reaches the point near DLF. Another channel would be created to carry the excess water to the swamp from the Arasankazhani Velanthangal tank.

The project submitted through Commissionerate of Revenue Administration and Disaster Management is awaiting the government’s nod. Similarly, there is a missing link in Madurapakkam Odai that drains into the swamp near DLF. “We are planning to provide three small channels of a total distance of 1,500 metres to carry water from upstream of the problematic spot near DLF and link it to the Odai downstream of DLF,” said an official.

The department is also studying the feasibility of diverting the surplus of Agaramthen group of tanks to Perumbakkam tank and then linking it to the marshland. “We are planning to connect the missing links in the open drain near SIPCOT in Siruseri and link it to Kazhipattur Maduvu. Surplus water then would be carried to the Buckingham Canal near Muttukadu,” the official added. Measures would be taken to improve infrastructure to channelise the floodwater within a year.

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