Some weeks ago, Chennai Corporation commissioner G S Sameeran inspected the flood prone zones of Mylapore to update himself on preparedness for the monsoon.
‘One stop was on R H Road, near the P S Sivaswami Salai junction.
The officer may or may not have walked alongside the Buckingham Canal, which is, despite the pollution and muck, can still handle excess floodwater.
Today, the Canal is loaded with muck and water hyacinth and people say GCC contracted teams have not desilted the Canal – from the Kalvi Varu Street end to Mandaveli
In fact, off the Mandaveli MRTS station, local people have built cattle sheds on plots created with debris materials in the bed of the Canal. Over a dozen cattle are reared here. ( This issue has been pointed out many times but GCC has not taken action).
A R A Puram community activist says that when he raised the issues on the absence of pre-monsoon desilting work alongside the Sringeri Mutt Road, GCC officials said that PWD now handled this job. Despite conversations with PWD engineers, the Canal remains thick with water hyacinth and garbage and dirty water.
“Mosquitos are breeding thick in the Canal and are the biggest headache for residents in R K Nagar,” the activist said.
