Govt. has started acquisition of private land for flood mitigation projects in the city: Udhayanidhi
Civic agencies have been directed to prepare for rain over the next four days. A total of 1,194 pumps and 524 jet-rodding and 158 super-sucker machines have been readied for use in the city, he says
The State government has started the acquisition of private land for widening waterways and implementing flood mitigation projects to prevent inundation in the residential areas of the city, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said here on Tuesday. Inspecting flood preparedness in the city, he said the government had directed civic agencies to prepare for rain over the next four days, following the India Meteorological Department’s forecast.

Mr. Udhayanidhi visited areas such as Okkiyam Maduvu to assess the progress of the work. “Residential areas were flooded because of bottlenecks in Okkiyam Maduvu, which drains water from the Pallikaranai marshland into the Buckingham Canal. We have acquired land from a private educational institution to widen it from 80 m to 130 m. After the work is completed, its water carrying capacity will increase from 7,000 cusecs to 12,000 cusecs. Work to level the land at another private educational institution has also started. This will be completed soon,” he said.