The work on widening and strengthening of bunds of Adyar river from Adhanur to Tiruneermalai is nearing completion and the remaining work such as construction of flood prevention wall near Tiruneermalai, where the another branch of Adyar river joins from surplus course of Chembarambakkam reservoir, is under way.
Kancheepuram Collector P. Ponnaiah and Public Works Department Secretary S.K. Prabhakar conducted a survey of ongoing flood prevention work being carried out in Kancheepuram district.
Officials of Water Resources Department said after the December 2015 floods, it was found that the Adyar river developed breaches in several places and ‘kalangals’ (weirs) were not properly channelised to carry excess rainwater into the river.
The State government allocated ₹19 crore towards repairing of weirs and construction of bunds on Adyar river up to Manapakkam.
Accordingly, bunds were rebuilt near Orathur, weirs were repaired in Adhanur and the surplus course of Pappan Kaalvai was desilted with construction of retaining walls up to Kishkinta Road in Perungalathur Town Panchayat.
In June, members of Varadharajapuram Residents Association submitted a petition to the Kancheepuram Collector to take steps to have the boundaries of Adyar river in Varadharajapuram surveyed, before it is widened and the height of its bunds raised.
President of Federation of Varadharajapuram Welfare Associations V. Rajasekaran said, “Work is under way to widen the river and increase the height of the bunds in areas coming under the jurisdiction of Varadharajapuram village panchayat. However, the work has been taken up without boundaries of the river being surveyed and marked.”
The Revenue Department should ensure this is done. Following this, the Water Resources Department should undertake the widening work.
At several points, the river has not been widened up to the marked boundaries.
“Increasing the height of the bunds should be done in accordance with the 1987 Field Measurement Book. The bunds should be raised up to a height of 10 feet and widened up to 4 meters. Moreover, both the height and the width of the bunds should be even throughout the course of the river so as to prevent flooding,” the members said.
The surplus flow of rainwater from lakes in Vandalur, Mannivakkam and Manimangalam reaches the Adyar river canal near Mannivakkam and from there it reaches Tiruneermalai, where another surplus course from Chembarambakkam reservoir takes water towards Anakaputhur, Manapakkam, Ramapuram, Saidapet and Kotturpuram to reach the Bay of Bengal.
The Collector has assured the residents that necessary steps would be taken at the earliest.
Published - October 30, 2017 01:04 am IST
