Encroachments on canal cause flooding
Water from Rajavaikal being diverted to storm water drains at Sivaram Nagar in the city on Friday.Residents of South Enclave at Sivaram Nagar near Sungam Junction in the city are in the grip of a fear of flooding. Recalling the torrid experience during heavy rain in November last year, they allege that encroachments on Rajavaikal are set to cause the flooding again.C.K. Sashikumar, a resident, points at earth heaped across the natural course of the canal and says: “This is to prevent water from entering the sites where the encroachments are located. But, this will divert water from the canal into our area.”The residents say they submitted a petition to District Collector Neeraj Mittal on Friday explaining the situation in their colony.Before the buildings had been constructed, excess water from the Valankulam along Sungam Bypass Road used to flow five km through Rajavaikal to the Singanallur Tank.This was part of the Noyyal River system, under which canals were the links that brought excess water from one tank to another.Over the last few years, buildings had been constructed on major portions of the canal and these now block the flow beyond a portion of South Enclave that is located at a higher level than the affected areas referred to in the petition.Mr. Sashikumar points out to a small bund across the canal to show how the water is diverted through the storm water drain.
This will only flood the low-level areas when the flow from the tank is heavy. The agony for the residents increases manifold in the event of heavy rain.“Water entered many houses in the affected areas last year,” says Mr. Sashikumar. Narrating the woes of the residents during that time, the resident says he had to spend around Rs.65,000 on laying pipes to drain water from his colony.“We even offered these pipes to those people who have diverted the water now. But, they were not prepared to listen when we expressed fears of flooding,” he says.
