Corporation officials set to tackle flooding to avoid repeat of December deluge
Posted on: 18/May/2016 11:49:24 AM
Officials from the greater Chennai Corporation are working hard not to have a repeat of last December’s floods. The Regional Meteorological office has predicted 25 cos of rain on Wednesday. The Corporation has taken many precautions which include summoning the National Disaster Response Force (NRDF), arranging for boats, pump sets and relief centres to house people and distributing food in case the rain triggers a deluge in the city.
Many officials and staff worked through Tuesday night to tackle water logging in the city after heavy rain. An emergency meeting was convened and they chalked out a detailed plan that will, hopefully, avoid flooding today.
Late on Tuesday, six teams of the NDRF arrived in the city from Arakonam. 15 senior IAS officers will monitor their staff and junior officers in the 15 zones of the Corporation in case of rescue operations.
Speaking about this, a senior corporation official said, The team will bring 24 boats. We have procured 25 additional boats from fishermen and they`re ready to be deployed in flood prone areas like Jafferkhanpet, Kotturpuram, Ram Nagar, Manapakkam, Velachery and Madipakkam. We have also motors ready to pump water out of low-lying areas that were flooded last year. Some of these (IAS) officers worked in these zones during December`s floods and they are familiar with situation on the ground. The IAS officers will monitor the situation and coordinate with officials.
Saws have been kept ready in case of strong winds that have been predicted by the Met department. They will, in the event of need, be used to cut off tree branches and prune them. Dead trees and branches will be cut down by staff that will be patrolling the city in trucks.
The main concern for officials are the subways that are prone to flooding. Motor pumps have been readied in subways that include Ganeshapuram, Perambur High Road, Villivakkam Redhills Subway and Gengu Reddy Subway .
Say the officials, (We) have also identified and kept relief centres ready and also ensured that Amma canteens has sufficient groceries in case there is a need to distribute food. Our medical teams are ready for an emergency.
