Chennai Corporation prepared to handle northeast monsoon, says Commissioner Sameeran

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is prepared to handle the northeast monsoon, with precautionary measures being taken across the city, Corporation Commissioner GS Sameeran said on Saturday.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the northeast monsoon is expected to set in between October 15 and 20. Sameeran said the civic body was also preparing for the possibility of extreme rainfall of 20 to 30 cm in a single day due to cloudbursts, depressions or cyclones.

Inspecting the double-vent stormwater drain project at Tidel Park in Taramani, Sameeran said the project would improve flood mitigation in the IIT Madras campus, spread over nearly 610 acres, and the adjoining Guindy National Park, including the Lok Bhavan premises.

The GCC had taken up the project based on past incidents and a technical committee's recommendations. The double-vent cut-and-cover drain extends 660 metres from its starting point to the South Buckingham Canal through the Open Space Reservation (OSR) area of Tidel Park and will discharge stormwater into the canal.

The project has been divided into two packages. Package 1 comprises a 330-metre cut-and-cover drain, of which work on 40 metres is expected to be finished within 10 days.

Package 2 involves a complex 90-metre stretch across OMR near the CMRL underground station. It includes a 45-metre CMRL segment and night-time work on OMR, which is awaiting police clearance. The package is expected to be completed within 20 days.

Across the city, short-term and medium-term flood mitigation works are nearing completion. Of the 1,600 km of stormwater drains, 1,400 km have been desilted and works on 200 km are expected to be completed in a week. The second round of cleaning is under way across all 1.1 lakh silt catch pits.

The GCC has deployed heavy machinery, including robotic excavators and amphibious machines, to clear critical culverts along Radial Road, railway lines and the Virugambakkam Canal, which is to be completed by October 15.

In coordination with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), around 70 per cent of temporary access structures and boulders obstructing the Cooum have been removed. Complete removal is targeted by mid-October.

The civic body has prepared 215 relief centres and 111 community kitchens and stocked emergency kits with essential supplies, including rice, milk powder and sanitary napkins. More than 5,200 volunteers have registered through the Namma Chennai app to assist with relief and medical operations.

As part of measures to improve road safety, the GCC has banned new road cuts except for emergency repairs. It has allocated Rs 29 crore for pre-monsoon patchwork.

The Metro Water Board has been asked to pay Rs 120 crore towards restoring roads damaged by cuts in south Chennai. The GCC also said complaints received through its 1913 helpline would be addressed within 72 hours.