CHENNAI: Flooding in Pattalam, Perambur, Vyasarpadi and other areas of North Chennai is a yearly affair. Experts say restoring Buckingham Canal can be a permanent solution for flooding in North Chennai.
Vyasarpadi has seen hip-deep floods for almost four decades, said Joseph Raja, 76, of Ganesapuram.
Pattalam’s stormwater drains carry water from areas in Purasaiwakkam and Otteri towards a drain via Demellows Road, enter Gandhi Canal via Pulianthope High Road and finally drain into the North Buckingham Canal.“Pattalam is a low-lying area and is always the last to drain. Now, we are planning to build a three-metre-wide drain for Rs15 crore, connecting Demellows Road to Buckingham Canal directly, bypassing Gandhi Canal,” said Thiru vi ka Nagar zone’s executive engineer, R Saravanan.
Knee-deep water on the Perambur High Road and the Stephenson Road was not easily flowing in the main stormwater drain to Otteri Nullah that goes via Ganesapuram on the eastern side. “Ganesapuram flyover work has paused stormwater drain restoration work in the area,” minister PK Sekar Babu told TOI.
“Ganesapuram is the lowest point where all the water drains into the Otteri Nullah. So, the water is receding slowly,” said Saravanan.
Vyasarpadi’s Sathiyamoorthy Nagar Main Road was also heavily inundated as the stormwater drain entering Captain Cotton Canal was running full. Greater Chennai Corporation was pumping water from the drain into the canal using a hose and two diesel generators.
Turning right, the area adjacent to the Cotton Canal—Ezhil Nagar in Kodungaiyur was marooned. “Most of the residents in low-lying houses leave before rain intensifies and come back after rain,” Vimal R, a resident, said.
Whenever the canal gets more water, Ezhil Nagar, Mahakavi Bharathi Nagar and Kodungaiyur’s interior roads flood.
The only way out for flood waters to exit from these areas is north Buckingham Canal. Minor canals like the Captain Cotton Canal in Vyasarpadi, the Kodungaiyur Canal and the Otteri Nullah in Basin Bridge connect with the Buckingham Canal to dispose rainwater.
Captain Cotton Canal
“This is because the water level in the North Buckingham Canal is higher than these low-lying areas like Ezhil Nagar and Vyasarpadi. Only if water from the major canal’s depth reduces will minor canals start draining water,” said N Victor, Tondiarpet zone’s executive engineer.
According to water resources department’s data, the North Buckingham Canal can carry water only at 2,850 cubic feet a second (cusecs) against floodwaters entering at more than 5,000 cusecs. The canal has also been narrowed down with multiple encroachments.
“Unless the Buckingham Canal is restored, north and south Chennai cannot be saved from floods,” said S Janakarajan, a former member of the Thiruppugazh Committee. WRD has a Rs3,650 crore project proposal to restore 47.5km of the Buckingham Canal from the Ennore Creek in the north to Muttukadu in the south.
