New lakes at MRC relieve south Chennai

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation on Wednesday said the four newly created stormwater lakes inside the former Madras Race Club premises in Guindy helped prevent waterlogging triggered by heavy rains in the neighbourhood.

As part of its monsoon preparedness works, the Corporation had widened and deepened two existing lakes at the MRC premises last year, increasing their capacity from 14,070 cubic metres to 19,560 cubic metres.

In addition, four new lakes were created with a combined capacity of 1,10,800 cubic metres. Ahead of this year's northeast monsoon, these four lakes were further expanded across 49,072 sqm, doubling their ability to hold rainwater to 2,45,360 cubic metres.

All four lakes reached their expanded capacity, holding back runoff that would otherwise have flowed into nearby residential areas, during the rains triggered by the weakened Cyclone Ditwah.

The Guindy-Velachery stretch has historically been one of south Chennai's most vulnerable pockets during periods of heavy rain. Water from the Adyar basin accumulates along Five Furlong Road, Race Course Road, Maduvinkarai and parts of Velachery, which sit at a natural low point.

Before the lakes were created inside the race course campus, runoff from these neighbourhoods had few places to disperse, leading to frequent waterlogging even during moderate spells. The monsoon rains in 2021 and 2023 seasons brought repeated instances of stagnation along Velachery Main Road, the TNHB quarters and interior lanes of Maduvinkarai, exposing gaps in the drainage network and prompting a search for larger flood-storage spaces within the zone.