Drain construction to prevent flooding near Kilambakkam terminus begins

Chennai: To prevent stagnation of water outside the proposed Kalaignar centenary bus terminus in Kilambakkam, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has begun construction of new drains on the GST Road.Last month, the water stagnant on the arterial GST Road after a heavy downpour was knee-deep. Traffic was thrown out of gear between Tambaram and Urapakkam because of the inundation at Kilambakkam near the bus terminus site.As the new bus terminus that can accomodate 226 buses – 164 government and 62 omni buses – built in around 88 acres of acquired land is set to attract several hundreds of passengers, the authorities want to ensure flooding should not cause inconvenience and chaos when government and private inter-city bus services begin.“We started work on the drains two days ago. It will run up to 1,280 metres on either side of the GST Road. Once this is completed, we will lay a 65-meter prefabricated culvert across the road,” said a CMDA official.Once the drains are constructed, the runoff will be carried across the road into the drain along the railway line. It will finally drain in a lake opposite the terminus. “Once this work is completed, there won’t be any water stagnation. We will also have pumps ready during monsoon,” the official added.Work on stormwater drains and access roads are some of the reasons causing a delay in the inauguration of the terminus. “This is a new terminus and supporting infrastructure is very crucial. This should be done on a war footing and the terminus should be thrown open to the public at the earliest,” said Kiran Kesavan, a resident of Perungalathur.The bus terminus is being constructed at a cost of 393.74 crore. “The highways department is laying more roads to the terminus. All efforts are being taken to prevent traffic stagnation around the locality,” said the official. Sridhar, a resident of Tambaram, said that encroachments on the pavement and unauthorised parking along the road should be monitored.