Chain of action at Corporation control room help residents

The control room, which was opened on the day of the onset of the north east monsoon, has been working round-the-clock, with a 25-personnel group handling complaints in three shifts.  

Speaking to DTNext, a Corporation official said that officials drawn from various departments, like Public Works Department, Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewage Board (CMWSSB) and Police, formed part of the team in the control room, for instant action on complaints pertaining to their respective departments. The centre of action is the complaint desk, with three landlines, to receive the calls, as well as two Whatsapp numbers along with the general helpline - 1913.  

The official said, “The complaints through the landline numbers or on our online forum are first recorded in the register, with details of the locality and the nature of the problem. Then, the information is relayed to the zonal officer of the locality as well as other officials such as superintending engineers and executive engineers. 

Subsequently, officials of the locality concerned will act on the complaint. Once the issue is resolved, a photograph will be sent to the internal flood control Whatsapp group and to  Corporation officials.” 

A number of complaints pertained to fallen trees, traffic congestion and water logging, the official said, adding, “We have ensured provision of 60-horsepower motor pumps, especially near the 22 subways in the city, 16 of which are under Corporation control, while the remaining are operated by the Highways Department,” said the official. 

On Thursday, when the city faced unprecedented rains, the Corporation’s control room was flooded with complaints. Of the 102 complaints received on Thursday evening, 42 were attended to immediately, while action was under way on the rest. Most of the complaints about waterlogging were received from Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Perungudi, Teynampet, Ambattur, Royapuram and Tondiarpet.

While many ‘purported’ messages were doing the rounds in social media of the breaching Chembarambakkam other water bodies, Revenue Minister RB Udhayakumar on Friday warned that rumour mongers would be brought to book.  Having stayed overnight at the control room of State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) monitoring the rain effects, the minister urged the public not to fall prey for hoax messages and rely on authentic media reports instead. 

 Slamming as utterly inadequate the state government’s preparedness in handling the situation caused by just a few hours of rain, the HC has directed it to file a detailed report on the steps taken to prevent logging of water and draining the accumulated water from the water logged areas in the city within Nov 10.

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar, while hearing a fresh PIL filed by advocate AP Suryaprakasam and two others pertaining to the 2015 Chennai floods, directed the state to expedite within three months, the removal of unauthorised encroachments on waterbodies and canals and remove the unauthorised constructions and structures blocking the drainage and other water flowing areas. Earlier, as the hearing commenced, heated arguments prevailed over the inaction of the Corporation in maintaining the storm water drains leading to the present pathetic state of affairs. Advocate Suryaprakasam, who moved the plea, submitted that the authorities have not taken the issue seriously despite the 2015 floods wreaking havoc. The Corporation for its part tabled a report on the action taken since the 2015 floods. The seven-page report also detailed about the Integrated Storm Water Drain Project being executed from 2015, with the financial assistance from the World Bank and that 80 pc of the works have been completed. The bench posted the matter to November 10.