CHENNAI: With the northeast monsoon approaching and El Niño-related weather effects being anticipated, the State government has set a September-end deadline for completing desilting and storm water drain (SWD) works across Chennai.
At a three-and-a-half-hour review meeting held at Ripon Building on Saturday, additional chief secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, Gagandeep Singh Bedi, directed officers and civic agencies to ensure 100% completion of works in canals, waterbodies, SWDs and silt catch pits by the end of September or the first week of October.
Following the directions of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, ministers and monitoring officers have been assigned to each zone to oversee flood mitigation measures and emergency rescue operations.
An MAWS official said that the monitoring officers would carry out zone-wise inspections of desilting and other flood-prevention works. “The first phase of desilting will be completed before the monsoon; second phase will be taken up closer to the monsoon,” the official said.
Bedi also instructed officials to coordinate with ward councillors, MLAs, residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) and the public while executing the works. “Monitoring officials have been told to give due respect and regard to public representatives, RWAs and the common public,” the official said.
The GCC and Water Resources Department (WRD) were asked to ensure quality in canal desilting works. The Highways department was directed to expedite cut-and-cover canal works in southern parts of Chennai. Tangedco officials were told to rectify exposed cables and bury them underground wherever necessary.
The government has sanctioned Rs 100 crore for monsoon preparedness. The works include desilting 1,671 km of SWDs and 1,10,082 silt catch pits, repairing damaged roads, deploying high-capacity motor pumps and recruiting 1,000 workers, five for each of the city’s 200 wards. The GCC has identified 207 vulnerable locations and is implementing site-specific engineering measures, including modular storage tanks and dedicated discharge pumps, in areas considered prone to flooding.
For emergency rescue operations, 311 boats have been kept on standby. Of these, 36 belong to the GCC and 275 are fishing boats. Trained crews will be deployed along with the boats.
The civic body is also preparing 215 flood relief centres and 111 community kitchens to ensure they can be made operational immediately during emergencies. The Integrated Command and Control Centre, 1913 helpline and GCC’s social media channels will function continuously to receive and address public complaints during the monsoon.
The GCC will also launch a dedicated Volunteers Registration App in the first week of September to enrol volunteers directly for relief and rescue operations. More than 1,000 volunteers and 721 RWA members are being on-boarded.