Chennai: Here, water flows from drains to homes

“Streets in AGS Colony, Natesan Colony, and Sriram Avenue are naturally sloppy towards Buckingham Canal. Despite this, it takes several hours for rainwater to recede. The civic body failed to maintain the slope while relaying roads,” G Vasudevan, a resident of AGS Colony said.

When DT Next visited the locality a few days ago, it was found that several houses were inundated despite the streets being freed of waterlogging since the level of stormwater drains in the area is above that of the houses.

Vasudevan said the stormwater drains in AGS Colony were constructed after the 2015 floods. “All the rainwater from East Coast Road (ECR) enters the area. The present stormwater drain is insufficient to carry the water due to flaws. Several senior citizens have moved out from the locality due to waterlogging in their houses,” he said.

Sam Ponraj, another resident, said the civic officials did not heed the suggestions of the residents while laying streets.

“I protested the relaying of Sriram Avenue Second Avenue without milling. But officials continued to relay the other streets surrounding our street without carrying out milling. Due to this, the level of our street went down and water entered our house, “ he fumed.

At several places, the Chennai Corporation has failed to provide proper links to the drain network. There is one pipe that connects the stormwater drain in Sriram Avenue Second Street and AGS Colony Third Main Road.

“Erstwhile local body laid a nine-inch pipe to connect the drains in the two streets. But the pipe is too small to carry the huge amount of floodwater. This is another reason for the waterlogging in Natesan Colony and Sriram Avenue. No proper planning was done while constructing the drains,” Sam Ponraj said.