During the downpour last Dec, Thiruvanmiyur’s Kamarajar Nagar hardly had any flooding. But with just 10cm rain in 24 hours ended 6am on Oct 16, ground floor houses on many streets had a foot of water inside.
How did this happen?
Water from Thiruvanmiyur’s coastal areas flows through Kamarajar Nagar to LB Road, before reaching Buckingham Canal.
T Kanthimathinathan, a CMRL flood mitigation committee member, blamed the flooding on drain blockages because of metro rail’s work on underground stations at Thiruvanmiyur and Indira Nagar. “Poor gradients and manual pumping delays hold up the water,” he added.
A study by the flood committee for CMRL’s work said drains in Adyar were damaged for 200m in the north and 55m in the south by work on the Indira Nagar station. So, 10 motors of 50hp capacity motors are needed to pump out water. Thiruvanmiyur metro rail work affected drains leading to Buckingham Canal. So, nine 25hp pumps are required to clear the floodwater.
But Kamarajar Nagar got only two pumps and it took nearly 36 hours to clear the floodwater. “Thiruvanmiyur never floods, not even during cyclones, but this time water stagnated for 24 hours after just intermittent rain,” said Adikesavulu Kalyan, a long-time Third East Street resident, who has moved to the first floor of his home as there’s a foot of water on the ground floor.
Residents struggled to get water cans, gas cylinders, and food deliveries. Zomato driver S Sakthi struggled through kneedeep water on Third East Street. A woman, from her first-floor balcony, asked him to place her food in a basket. Unsure of open drains, Sakthi asked her to come to the corner of the street, sparking a brief argument before he delivered the order.
Ward 179 DMK Councillor Kayalvizhi Jayakumar, supervising motor pumping work, said this is Thiruvanmiyur’s first major flooding. “We broke open drains at two locations to remove bricks blocking flow from Kamarajar Nagar. Water cleared faster after that as we used 20 HP pumps,” she said. The water was drained out by 3:30 p.m., after brief protests by residents.
Officials said drains in the area are one foot below East Coast Road and three feet be low LB Road, causing water to flow back. “We need to rework the gradients of all roads,” said GCC assistant engineer Ashok Kumar. They are also unsure how CMRL construction has affected underground hydrology.
Other flooded areas include T Nagar’s Rameshwaram Street, where water entered homes. V S Jayaraman of the T Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association blamed missing links due to the CIT Nagar-Usman Road flyover. “Water flows from the street via Usman Road, Madley Junction, and into Mambalam Canal, but blockages are hindering it,” he said. Officials are investigating.
How did this happen?
Water from Thiruvanmiyur’s coastal areas flows through Kamarajar Nagar to LB Road, before reaching Buckingham Canal.
T Kanthimathinathan, a CMRL flood mitigation committee member, blamed the flooding on drain blockages because of metro rail’s work on underground stations at Thiruvanmiyur and Indira Nagar. “Poor gradients and manual pumping delays hold up the water,” he added.
A study by the flood committee for CMRL’s work said drains in Adyar were damaged for 200m in the north and 55m in the south by work on the Indira Nagar station. So, 10 motors of 50hp capacity motors are needed to pump out water. Thiruvanmiyur metro rail work affected drains leading to Buckingham Canal. So, nine 25hp pumps are required to clear the floodwater.
But Kamarajar Nagar got only two pumps and it took nearly 36 hours to clear the floodwater. “Thiruvanmiyur never floods, not even during cyclones, but this time water stagnated for 24 hours after just intermittent rain,” said Adikesavulu Kalyan, a long-time Third East Street resident, who has moved to the first floor of his home as there’s a foot of water on the ground floor.
Residents struggled to get water cans, gas cylinders, and food deliveries. Zomato driver S Sakthi struggled through kneedeep water on Third East Street. A woman, from her first-floor balcony, asked him to place her food in a basket. Unsure of open drains, Sakthi asked her to come to the corner of the street, sparking a brief argument before he delivered the order.
Ward 179 DMK Councillor Kayalvizhi Jayakumar, supervising motor pumping work, said this is Thiruvanmiyur’s first major flooding. “We broke open drains at two locations to remove bricks blocking flow from Kamarajar Nagar. Water cleared faster after that as we used 20 HP pumps,” she said. The water was drained out by 3:30 p.m., after brief protests by residents.
Officials said drains in the area are one foot below East Coast Road and three feet be low LB Road, causing water to flow back. “We need to rework the gradients of all roads,” said GCC assistant engineer Ashok Kumar. They are also unsure how CMRL construction has affected underground hydrology.
Other flooded areas include T Nagar’s Rameshwaram Street, where water entered homes. V S Jayaraman of the T Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association blamed missing links due to the CIT Nagar-Usman Road flyover. “Water flows from the street via Usman Road, Madley Junction, and into Mambalam Canal, but blockages are hindering it,” he said. Officials are investigating.
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