CHENNAI: Only rain for an hour is enough is the key stretches flood T Nagar touted as the show cut part of the multi-crore Smart City project in Chennai recently.
Although the aqueduct built under rain water disposal project missing link under Smart City Mission for 9.3 crore partly GN Chetty Road, Prakasam Salai, South Usman Road, Burkit Road and other streets around Pondy Bazaar is under water 3-foot on Monday morning.
Civic body officials blamed it on the blockage of drains and encroachment as an excuse.
They still can not hide the standard quality of work done under the program Smart City and the inefficiency of channel design, plus non-maintenance of the existing sewer network.
This TimesViewMonday flooding in T Nagar proves one thing: A lot of public money has been wasted.
That this happened in the heart of Chennai project ‘smart city’ is a shame.
While water logging after a brief spell of rains expose poor civil work and the possibility of corruption, it is appalling no charge.
Vigilance and crime branch police wing of the state should identify the contractor, officials and politicians colluded to the city a mess like that.
A comprehensive quality audit of all smart city projects, both completed and in progress, followed by criminal prosecution of perpetrators must prevent civilian crimes of this nature in the jam and water-logging future.Traffic leaving throwing normal life completely out of gear in areas.
R Kannan, a resident Habibullah Road, said they were not dealing with this much water-logging even during a red alert.
“The bath today only lasts for a few hours.
Should this water channel works as promised, the water must be drained by the evening.
But even at 18:00, there is a 2-foot water in all these streets,” he said.
Activists and experts blame poor design, lack of gradients and slopes while building a water channel and corruption in awarding contracts for these projects for this disaster.
Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam Jayaram said: ..
“We all know why the water does not flow into drains We need to look at the reasons for the failure in planning under the Smart Cities corporation Why not build a new channel on this road where the old channel there? All the way off Habibullah road is flooded.
If they claim that this is a smart city, planning should be smarter, “he said Gagandeep Singh Bedi, enterprise commissioner, said,” we will make sure the way is free from water-logging by Tuesdaymorning.
We pump is functioning properly.
We also prepare predicted rainfall next week.
” Civic body officials, who inspected the road, find a house that stood between the road and the sewer, completely blocking the flow of water.
After it is removed, the water of Vijayaraghavapuram start flowing.
They also found and removed a blockage at 12 locations in the G N Chetty road.
They also broke open several outlet to drain water from Bazullah Road.
There was little respite though, like a puddle last until late at night.
An engineer of the department of Chennai Corporation storm water flows to TOI that water from areas such as Aziz Nagar Kodambakkam and Subramanian Nagar is being pumped into the street, and finds its way to the streets of T Nagar.
But there is no answer to the question why Kodambakkam neighborhood who witnessed the water in the first place.
Waterways near Mambalam Canal on the way – like Venkatanarayana Road – just work, and the rest just failed this season.
City officials say the drains in Bazullah Road and Habibullah Road is only a 3X2 foot width and depth, so that the water carrying capacity of their limited.