Tambaram residents flood corpn office with petitions

Chennai: Residents are swarming Tambaram corporation office, submitting petitions, and demanding faster progress on crucial civic projects ahead of rains. They claim key initiatives for flood barriers, clean drinking water supply, lake restoration, and canal development launched in 2021 remain stalled.Commissioner S Balachander chaired a review meeting on Saturday with MSME minister T M Anbarasan, mayor Vasanthakumari K, Tambaram MLA S R Raja, Pallavaram MLA I Karunanidhi, and senior officials from the highways and water resources departments. The meeting focused on improving inter-departmental coordination to speed up pending projects before monsoon.Among the crucial projects discussed was the 13 crore flood barrier in Perungalathur, which remains unfinished. A small bridge near GST Road's Radha Nagar railway crossing, worth 17.65 crore, is also pending. "We're still dealing with unfinished work from 2021. We are focusing on the Radial Road stormwater drain project," said the mayor .Residents, however, complained that the progress on the 110 crore drainage project was slow, despite significant portions being completed. "We've heard these promises before, but we need real action this time," said resident Jagan Muralidharan from Zamin Pallavaram.Councillors blamed poor contractor performance and inadequate manpower as reasons for the delay. "Officials must ensure better supervision and faster execution," said Tambaram MLA S R Raja.WRD's 96.5 crore canal work linking Irumbuliyur to Mudichur Road faces similar setbacks. "We are addressing these delays. Priority now is to remove encroachments around Selaiyur Lake, crucial for flood mitigation," said Anbarasan.