Corp has begun removing silt from canals
After learning some hard lessons from the flooding last year, the Coimbatore Corporation has begun removing silt from canals and is carrying out repairs to storm water drains across the city.Two key areas where the works have begun are: Saibaba Colony market and Kongu Nagar at Ramanathapuram. A heavily clogged canal in the market had led to rainwater overflowing into residential areas last November. Kongu Nagar remained hit for a couple of weeks when culverts over the Sanganur Canal got clogged with waste. The entire Corporation machinery was forced to work overtime to drain the water from these areas.Layouts along Udayampalayam Road and Iyer Hospital Road at Ramanathapuram remained inundated for at least 20 days after water from the canal entered these areas in the first week of November. A major drawback in the city that these incidents of flooding brought into sharp focus was poor maintenance or even abuse of storm water drains. In some areas, the drains had not been provided at all. Dumping of garbage into waterways and the storm water drains proved to be one of the reasons for the problem.Mayor R. Venkatchalam had announced then that the Corporation would prepare a flood prevention plan with a special focus on the storm water drains.
When asked what plans are being executed in the city, especially in view of the monsoon next month, the Mayor said the Corporation had drawn up a list of 25 works at Rs. 3.57 crore.Of these, five had been completed at Rs. 34 lakh, nine were under progress at Rs. 1.36 crore and 11 were to be taken up at Rs. 1.85 crore.The worst hit Kongu Nagar had been sanctioned Rs. 25 lakh. Retaining walls were being built along canals, such as the one along Sanganur Canal at Rs. 25 lakh.Work to desilt the canal inside the M.G.R. Market at Saibaba Colony was on. Corporation officials said during the flooding last year that the dumping of vegetable waste into the canal had obstructed flow of rainwater. This had resulted in the inundation of nearby layouts.
The Mayor said that the Corporation wanted to avoid last year's experience. "That is why we are trying to speed up the works so that they are over before the monsoon sets in."What, however, remains to be seen is how the encroachments on water bodies such as Valankulam will cope with the situation.The housing project to relocate these people will take some more months to take off and these people are the most vulnerable to floods.
