CM’s Kolathur shines light on failed urban planning
CHENNAI: Continuous rain on Friday resulted in water stagnation in most parts of the Kolathur constituency. Important roads in Periyar Nagar and Jawahar Nagar were closed to the public due to water stagnation.
“The first question that troubles us as soon as the rain starts is if the water will enter our houses this time. Water stagnation is a rampant problem in Kolathur constituency as 70 feet road connecting both Periyar Nagar and Jawahar Nagar are completely inundated. The government should find a permanent solution to prevent water stagnation,” Venkat, a BPO employee residing in Periyar Nagar, told DT Next.
The previous spell of rain heavily impacted Periyar Nagar and Jawahar Nagar. Even the street where Stalin’s MLA office sits on in Jawahar Nagar was inundated. Following public demands, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) had closed down the 70 feet road to revamp the stormwater drain.
As works progressed a part of the road was reopened but it was closed again after the rain on Friday.
Following the water stagnation issue, Chief Minister MK Stalin visited the 70 feet road and inspected the staff pumping out water from stagnated areas. He also inspected the area opposite the Peravallur Police station and instructed the officials to remove stagnated water at the earliest.
Even after a week since the earlier spell of monsoon subsided, parts of the constituency were still waterlogged. Some of the key roads in the constituency had remained closed for nearly 10 days.
The BJP had also criticised Stalin for “letting down the people in Kolathur”, the constituency he has been representing for 10 years. BJP leader and actor Khushbu Sundar, in an earlier statement, had said that Stalin should have transformed Kolathur into a ‘smart’ constituency in the last decade.
In the last 24 hours ending Friday morning, Tamil Nadu received an average rainfall of 39.34 mm. In Chennai, 620 people were housed in five relief camps where they were provided with 720 food packets and medicines. Two companies of the NDRF were sent to Chengalpattu and one company to Kancheepuram. Many roads, even key links, were inundated in the city and water started entering houses in the low-lying areas. Since the onset of the northeast monsoon on October 1, the State has received 580.84 mm of rainfall, which was 70 per cent higher than the average rainfall of 341.33 mm