Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, during a meeting with the elected representatives and officials here on Wednesday, instructed them to carry out the works to ensure proper outflow of water from Sellur channel in Madurai.
During a meeting with Minister for Registration and Commercial Taxes P.Moorthy, Minister for Information and Digital Services PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, MP Su. Venkatesan, Collector M.S. Sangeetha, Corporation Commissioner C. Dinesh Kumar, among others, Mr. Stalin heard from them about the various repair works that were being carried in the city following the heavy rains that breached some of the major water channels leading to floods in nearby areas.
Mr. Stalin was briefed about the need to repair the Sellur channel by creating an additional channel of 290 metres from the existing flood regulator in Sellur kanmai to drain into Vaigai river. In response, he directed the officials to commence the required works with a dedicated fund of ₹11.9 crore.
The officials said that though a temporary earthern channel of 3.5 metres below ground level was created and water was discharged through it on October 27 during the rain, it was found that due to the depth of the channel, the basement of 27 houses located parallel to it started eroding.
Hence officials explained to Chief Minister about the need to convert the existing earthern channel into a cut and cover channel with Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) lining.
As blockage and narrow channel were the major reasons for the breach and overflow into the residential areas, temporary work on the day of the rains involved removing transformers and electrical poles, clearing the water pathway using cranes, among others, they added.
Published – October 30, 2024 08:53 pm IST