3 flood-hit city roads to get wider storm water drains

CHENNAI: With the pictures of flood-hit city streets in December last year still fresh in the mind and the north-east monsoon fast drawing in, the state highways department has gone on an overdrive to construct storm water drains on three stretches on 100feet road, GST road and Poonamallee High road.
The drains are being built on Vadapalani-CMBT stretch on 100feet road, Officers Training Academy-Asarkhana stretch on GST road and Hotel Everest-Police Commissioner office stretch on Poonamallee high road.
While storm water drains are usually 3ft by 3ft, the new ones will be 4ft by 5ft to be on the safe side in case of heavy rains.
"These stretches were badly affected during last year's floods. We are constructing the drains on a 'water-footing'," said an engineer from the construction and maintenance wing of the state highways department, adding "All of them will be completed by October 30 - just in time before the North-East Monsoon sets in."
However, there is a catch. Engineers do not have enough time to relocate the underground utilities in the area to make way for the drains. As a result, the platform will be at least a foot high from the road. "These are practical difficulties. There are too many pipes and wiring going underground on this stretch. We do not have time to relocate them," said the engineer.
In all these stretches, storm water drains exist but are not networked. "The metro rail work has damaged most of the drains. The new project will ensure that this does not happen," the engineer added.
Ideally, the corporation needs to have a 'master plan' on the storm water drains in terms of volume and direction. "But we have no clue about the city's topography. If the corporation does a study and gives us a map, we can lay better drains," said the highways official.
For several residents of the city, 100 Feet Road brings back nightmares of December last year. It was one of the worst affect roads in the city with boats plying on it.
"Thinking that arterial roads would be better than those in the neighbourhood, I decided to walk to Koyambedu from Vadapalani to deliver a consignment. Only when I got there, I realized the water had stagnated up till my waist. I had to wade through that without knowing what I was going to step on," a said a resident of Saligramam M V Sridhar. "I would never want to see my city like that again," he added.