The Greater Chennai Corporation has intensified preparations for the northeast monsoon, including drainage upgrades, emergency relief capacity and machinery deployment, as the India Meteorological Department expects the season to begin between October 15 and 20.
Corporation Commissioner GS Sameeran said the civic body was preparing for extreme rainfall of 20 to 30 cm in a single day, which could result from cloudbursts, depressions or cyclones. He made the remarks while inspecting a double-vent stormwater drain project near Tidel Park in Taramani.
The 660-metre cut-and-cover drain is designed to carry stormwater from the Open Space Reservation area at Tidel Park to the South Buckingham Canal. The project is intended to improve flood mitigation around the nearly 610-acre IIT Madras campus, Guindy National Park and the Lok Bhavan premises.
The work has been divided into two packages. The first includes a 330-metre stretch, with 40 metres expected to be completed within 10 days. The second covers a complex 90-metre section across the Old Mahabalipuram Road near a Chennai Metro Rail underground station. It includes a 45-metre section associated with the Chennai Metro Rail project, while night-time work on the road is awaiting police clearance. The second package is expected to be completed within 20 days.
The civic body said short-term and medium-term flood mitigation works were nearing completion across Chennai. Of the city’s 1,600 km stormwater drain network, 1,400 km had been desilted, while work on the remaining 200 km was expected to finish within a week. A second round of cleaning was also under way across all 1.1 lakh silt catch pits.
Heavy equipment, including robotic excavators and amphibious machines, has been deployed to clear critical culverts along Radial Road, railway lines and the Virugambakkam Canal. The canal-cleaning work is targeted for completion by October 15. In coordination with the National Highways Authority of India, about 70 per cent of temporary access structures and boulders obstructing the Cooum had been removed, with complete removal targeted by mid-October.
For emergency response, the GCC has prepared 215 relief centres and 111 community kitchens. Emergency kits have been stocked with supplies including rice, milk powder and sanitary napkins. More than 5,200 volunteers have registered through the Namma Chennai app to support relief and medical operations.
The corporation has also prohibited new road cuts, except for emergency repairs, and allocated Rs 29 crore for pre-monsoon patchwork. The Metro Water Board has been asked to pay Rs 120 crore towards restoring roads damaged by utility cuts in south Chennai. The GCC said complaints received through its 1913 helpline would be addressed within 72 hours.