GST Road: GST Road in Chromepet at risk of flooding again due to clogged canals | News from Chennai

Chennai: Every year, GST Road floods, especially a Chromepetand this year is expected to be no different due to overrun and clogged canals.
During the rains, the surplus water from Veeraraghavan Lake and Pachamalai, along with runoff from GST Road, flows eastwards to flow into the Pallavaram Periya Eri. However, two main canals that carry this water are overrun and blocked with garbage and sewage, making it difficult for the flood water to drain efficiently from Chromepet.
One of the canals starts at GST Road opposite Vetri Theater and passes under the Chromepet railway track. It begins as a 2.5-foot-wide channel, with trash choking its mouth, and widens to 7 feet. Durgai Amman Koil sits on the channel, further narrowing it. The houses have extended their compound walls into the canal, restricting the waterway.
Another canal starts near the Tambaram Taluk Government Hospital in Chromepet and merges with the Vetri Theater canal midway at Shanthi Nagar before joining the Pallavaram Lake on the southern side. It also carries the runoff water from MIT College. However, the canal is full of sewage. “This is also why Chromepet Govt Hospital near Taluk Hospital often gets flooded. It is also in a low-lying area,” said David Manohar, a local activist with NGO Arappor Iyakkam.
Another entrance joins the Pallavaram Periya Eri on the northern side, starting near the Ponds Company sign on GST Road in Pallavaram. This carries water from Pammal, Thiruneermalai and Nagalkeni. It’s also heavily overgrown and full of trash and sewage, according to David.
When TOI contacted the Water Resources Department (WRD) about the polluted and encroached canals in Chromepet, an official said, “These canals are maintained by the Tambaram Corporation. We have removed the water hyacinth and prepared the Pallavaram lake for the coming northeast monsoon.”
“These canals belong to WRD, and we have dried up the culverts that flow into the canals,” said a Tambaram Corporation official, passing the buck, as the city and suburbs braced for an orange alert of “very heavy rains” on Tuesday .