Delay in completion of canal work angers Mogappair residents

CHENNAI: Commuters travelling on Bharathi Salai connecting Nolambur Union Road with Church Road in

Mogappair

are tired of traffic jams caused by canal work taken up by Greater Chennai Corporation. The corporation has demolished a bridge across the canal and created a temporary pathway that holds up traffic.

The Nolambur canal which is 2.4km long is being de-silted and renovated. Parts of Mogappair were badly hit by the 2015 floods.

Canal work that started in April is yet to be completed. Litigations, inter departmental sanctions and technical difficulties have delayed the project, said officials.

V Umanath, a resident of the area, said, "We understand that the canal work is taken up for the benefit of residents. What irks us is the lack of planning. With monsoon arriving, the work taken up in April should have been completed by now. Else, they should have taken it up in parts. Currently, work is going on along the entire stretch affecting traffic in the entire area wherever the canal flows."

Muthu M, an autorickshaw driver, said the bridge could have been demolished after the canal work was completed. "When it rains, it becomes extremely dangerous for us to cross the pathway, especially at night," he said.

An engineer overseeing the project said work on the canal was hit by several problems. "We faced a lot of issues. We had to shift the Metrowater pipeline. Then two residents encroaching at the disposal point filed cases. Another problem was that certain portion of the land belonged to housing board and the land transfer took a lot of time," the official.

Deputy commissioner, works, Govinda Rao said the work has been split as six packages which are being taken up simultaneously to reduce trouble for residents. "Work will be completed in 15 days," he said.

Officials said they even relocated 38 residents encroaching on the canal at Gangai

Amman

Nagar.

"We have another bridge work at Kavi Mani Salai which will be taken up next week. The foundation work on the bridge has already started," an official said.


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