The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has completed 92% of work on the construction of storm-water drains (SWDs) in core city areas and the ongoing work will be completed in 10 days, said Mayor R. Priya while addressing mediapersons on Thursday, November 2, 2023.
She said the civic body had identified 109 locations where relief boats and rescue forces would be arranged in coordination with the Fisheries Department and police. Pending SWD work in core areas, such as Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar, Anna Nagar, and Kodambakkam, will be completed in 10 days. However, work in added areas will be completed later. “Adequate pumps have been readied to drain water from areas where work has not been completed,” she said.
Of the 769 km drains proposed in Kosasthalaiyar basin, 518 km has been completed in zones such as Tiruvottiyur, Manali, and Madhavaram. The work will be completed next year. Of the 162 km in Kovalam basin, 78 km has been completed in the zones of Alandur, Perungudi, and Sholinganallur.
Over 98% of the drains, covering 59 km, under the State Disaster Management Fund, has been completed. “Over 23,000 GCC employees have been sensitised to address civic issues reported during the northeast monsoon, We have conducted coordination meetings with 16 agencies ahead of the monsoon to prevent hardship for residents,” Ms. Priya said.
The GCC has pruned 2,000 trees as part of monsoon preparedness in the city. Relief centres have been set up at 169 locations to help residents in low-lying areas. It has set up 15 lines at the Integrated Command and Control Centre in Ripon Buildings in order to cater to 1913 helpline callers during the monsoon.
The civic body has installed flood sensors at 46 locations and installed 68 cameras along canals for monitoring. As many as 500 cameras for surveillance and disaster management have also been set up. Rain gauge has also been installed at 30 locations in the city. At 37 low-lying areas, 100-hp pumps have been installed, with 845 pumps being readied.
The GCC is conducting medical camps at 40 locations every day. The city has reported 484 dengue cases this year. Pointing to the completion of road relaying work in 6,505 damaged stretches, Ms. Priya said the remainder of the work will be completed after the monsoon. As many as 11,248 stretches of damaged roads have been identified for relaying in the city.
