Chennai desilting 1,671 km of drains ahead of monsoon
Greater Chennai Corporation has begun desilting 1,671 kilometres of stormwater drains at an estimated cost of ₹22.46 crore, the mayor told councillors. The city has also allocated funds for roads, pumps, temporary staff, mosquito control and a drone survey to check whether cleared waste is removed.
The Greater Chennai Corporation is desilting 1,671 kilometres of stormwater drains as part of preparations for the monsoon, Mayor R. Priya told the council on Friday. The work is estimated to cost ₹22.46 crore.
Priya was responding to a question from MDMK councillor P. Subramani of Ward 139 about measures to prepare the city for seasonal rain. The corporation has allocated ₹10 crore for monsoon precautionary works, with ₹5 lakh assigned to each ward.
A further ₹22 crore has been earmarked for patching and resurfacing damaged roads. The mayor said ₹26.53 crore had been proposed to hire 150 pumps with a capacity of 100 horsepower and 500 tractor-mounted pumps for low-lying areas. The corporation has also allocated ₹4.65 crore for temporary personnel who will operate pumps and water tanks.
A drone survey costing ₹15 lakh is under way to verify the desilting work. It is also intended to ensure that silt and garbage removed from the drains are taken away rather than left at the work sites. The civic body is taking additional measures related to public health.
Mosquito-control workers have been deployed, larvicides have been stocked and fogging has been carried out in vulnerable areas. Pamphlets on preventing disease during the rainy season will be distributed, while health inspectors have been assigned responsibility for public awareness. The source material does not give a timetable for completion of the desilting programme or identify specific locations where the pumps will be deployed.
The measures were presented to the corporation council as part of the city’s broader monsoon preparedness. No further details were provided about expected rainfall, previous flooding or the condition of individual drainage corridors.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.