Public Works Department to blame for flooding: Anbumani

In a release, Anbumani Ramadoss said the normal practice of issuing three flood warnings before releasing water as followed in Mettur and Vaigai dams was not followed by the PWD. On December 1, the Chennai collector in a release warned that upto 7500 cubic feet of water would be released from Chembarambakkam, but the release increased to 10,000 cubic feet per second before the matter reached the press. Before the news could be put out it increased to 34,000 cubic feet. Though this was the official figure, Anbumani said nearly 60,000 cubic feet was released and when rain water from other areas flowed into the Adyar, it totalled nearly 1 lakh cubic feet water which affected residents on the banks. 

That many were washed away and that possessions of residents on the banks of Adyar and Cooum rivers were totally lost was due to the gross negligence of the district administration and the PWD. Though lower level PWD officials urged their superiors to reduce the water level to 18 feet to manage additional flows, the chief secretary being unable to get the CMs nod resulted in officials delaying release of excess water. If this was true, then chief secretary Gnanadesikan and CM Jayalalitha were responsible for the devastation of Chennai, he added.