Chennai, Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary M Sai Kumar has directed officials to execute Northeast monsoon preparedness and mitigation works on a war-footing across Greater Chennai Corporation and the suburban areas of Avadi and Tambaram.
Following directions from Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, who has deputed ministers and monitoring officers across zones to supervise monsoon preparedness, Kumar reviewed the pre-monsoon measures meant to tackle heavy rainfall and El Nino impacts. The Chief Secretary instructed officials to deploy high-capacity motor pumps on standby in chronically waterlogged and low-lying areas. He specifically highlighted Velachery, Ambattur SIDCO, Tiruvottiyur, and Manali, stressing that the normal life of the public must not be disrupted. He ordered the expeditious creation of missing stormwater drain linkages, particularly along corridors where Chennai Metro Rail works are underway and on arterial highways. Major arterial stretches, including Demellows Road, Nookampalayam, and MRH Road, were singled out for urgent completion. He also ordered the clearance of river mouths, canals, and waterways to ensure unobstructed water flow, the release added. Reviewing rescue protocols, Kumar mandated the pre-positioning of flood rescue boats, mobilisation of field volunteers, and inspection of designated relief centres and community kitchens. The electricity department was directed to elevate distribution pillar boxes above ground level and ensure underground cables are fully insulated with zero leakage to completely prevent electrocution hazards. Additional Chief Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi, commissioners of Chennai, Avadi, and Tambaram municipal corporations, zonal monitoring officers, and senior officials from disaster management and civic agencies attended the meeting. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Chairing a high-level review meeting with zonal monitoring officers and line department heads at the Secretariat here on September 1, Kumar set a September-end deadline to complete all desilting and stormwater drain network projects, an official release said on Wednesday. Desilting is currently underway across 1,671 km of stormwater drains and 1,10,082 silt catch pits under the GCC limits, and similar drives must be carried out across suburban local bodies, the release quoted him as saying.
The Water Resources Department, Highways, Chennai Metrowater, CMRL and TANGEDCO must work in close coordination with civic bodies to conclude all civic restoration by the end of September, according to the release.
