Chennai struggles with unfinished drains and battered roads as northeast monsoon sets in

CHENNAI: The first showers of this year’s northeast monsoon have exposed gaps in preparedness on the ground, alleged residents, activists, and ward councillors across Chennai, raising concerns over incomplete stormwater drain (SWD) works and deteriorating roads.

Drain works are under way on several traffic-heavy stretches, including Bricklin Road in Purasaiwalkam, the East Avenue Road–Chennai-Tiruvallur High (CTH) Road intersection, Padi, and sections of Arcot Road. Works are also in progress in SVS Nagar, 2nd Main Road in Valasaravakkam, Kalli Amman Koil Street in Virugambakkam, and J Block 2nd Street in Anna Nagar.

V Ajaynath, a resident in the neighbourhood, said the work on drains along Bricklin Road from Cook Road junction to Megala Theatre has been dragging on for more than four months, resulting in congestion during peak hours. "The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has set up barricades, shrinking the two-way carriageway, while the rain has made the road pothole-ridden, making it tough for motorcyclists," he said.

The stormwater overflowing from the drain gets mixed with the sewage and stagnates in the area during heavy spells of rain. As the work is unlikely to finish on time, residents will yet again be dependent on pumps to remove the water.

Sandhya Vedullapalli, secretary of the Federation of Anna Nagar Residents Associations (FOARA), said most stormwater drain works in Anna Nagar are complete apart from minor connecting works. However, work on J Block 2nd Street began only a few days ago. She also raised doubts whether the existing drains had been desilted adequately.

"Compared to previous years, I have hardly seen any visible desilting activity this time," she said, adding that the heavy rains would reveal the truth about preparedness.

On Arcot Road, drain work was stopped for about 15 days, and progress remained slow, inconveniencing shopkeepers and the public along the half-kilometre stretch from Meenakshi College, said Kodambakkam resident Balaji. Gridlock has delayed ambulances and other vehicles for a week, he said.

J John of the AIADMK, who is the Ward 84 councillor, said the macro drain work at the CTH Road–East Avenue Road intersection is currently stalled. He claimed construction and other works was slower than last year, after the change of government. The stretch connecting to the Otteri Nullah canal cannot be completed in time, so water will have to be pumped out, John added.

Driving on battered roads has become a daily ordeal for motorists. North Chennai activist Ramesh Ramadoss said the Metro Water Board dug up roads to lay pipelines under the North Chennai Development Scheme, but several interior and main roads were not re-laid or filled properly.

R Shyam, a Royapuram resident, said Cemetery Road linking old Washermanpet and Royapuram has turned dust-prone after the wet mix used to fill road cuts got washed away within days. "The corporation has to lay a permanent road soon," he said.

Tondiarpet zone chairman Nethaji U Ganesan said about 14 damaged interior streets in Nehru Nagar and a few in Rajiv Gandhi Nagar need re-laying. Desilting remains pending in Nehru Nagar, VOC Nagar, Butchammal Street, and Meenambal Nagar, and work, including monsoon preparedness, has been slow for five months, he alleged.

Conditions are similar in South Chennai. K Saminathan, a resident of Kumaran Kudil Nagar in Okkiyam Thoraipakkam, said Sakthi Srinivasan Road, an important link to Secretariat Colony, has been in poor condition for six months. As a result, bus services to Secretariat Colony have been stopped.

When asked, a senior GCC official told DT Next that the civic body has instructed contractors to finish the ongoing works soon. Explaining the delays, the official said heavy traffic and shifting of high-tension cables are slowing work on CTH Road but assured that the corporation is coordinating with traffic police to speed up the work. On Bricklin Road, water will be diverted to Otteri Nullah via the burial ground, he said.

Over 700 roads will be re-laid under the Chief Minister's fund, with tenders to be floated soon. Worst-affected roads will get priority, while patch works continue and interior roads receive temporary filling, added the official.