Chennai: The 44-odd canals, spanning 81.8km in the city, have only one thing in common. They’re all choked with sewage, garbage, and debris and are encroached upon by houses. This has increased flood risk in several key core city neighbourhoods such as T Nagar, Nungambakkam, Anna Nagar, Virugambakkam, Velachery and Nandanam.Residents and civic activists said flood-mitigation works were not carried out adequately during summer. They said desilting works are often announced and taken up only towards the monsoon, without timelines or accountability for completion. “Even last year, desilting and flood-mitigation works began only a few months before the northeast monsoon, when there was not enough machinery to complete the work,” said T K Shanmugam, president of Federation of North Chennai Residents Welfare Association.Several canals, including Kodungaiyur, Veerangal Odai, Mambalam Canal, Otteri Nullah, Virugambakkam, Captain Cotton Canal, Trustpuram, Pallikaranai and Secretariat Colony, are all badly maintained.In South Chennai, residents have also submitted multiple petitions over the years for the restoration of micro-canals connecting to Velachery Lake. These channels are crucial for draining excess water and preventing flooding during the monsoon, but the issue remained unresolved for years.“After the change in govt, officials acted on one of the petitions, held a meeting and conducted an immediate inspection. Velachery MLA and Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services R Kumar has urged the WRD, highways department and Greater Chennai Corporation to open and desilt micro-canals at 20 locations along Taramani Link Road. If these channels are maintained, excess water can flow out during the monsoon and reduce the risk of inundation,” said M Balakrishnan, secretary of Tansi Nagar Residents Welfare Association, Velachery.To tackle this, GCC has stepped up preparations with a drone-based survey on Friday at Kodungaiyur North Canal, Veerangal Odai and West Mambalam Canal. Around four to five drones will be deployed daily to inspect the canals in phases.GCC Commissioner G S Sameeran said, “The images, videos and geographical information collected would be integrated to prepare a GIS-based database and maps showing the current condition of the canals. Based on the findings, the corporation plans to prioritise desilting, removal of blockages, repair of damaged stretches and measures to ensure uninterrupted water flow ahead of the northeast monsoon.”
