Saturday, November 14, 2015

10,000 sandbags kept ready to weather the prediction of rains

C Shivakumar
Chennai:
More than 10,000 sandbags are kept ready at a site in Thamaraipakkam as Public Works Department officials prepare strategy to weather the prediction of more rains by the Metrology department in the next five days.
Interestingly, a total of 4,000 gunny bags full of sand have been sent to Chennai, according to PWD sources in Thiruvallur.
Sources told Express that the sand bags are used to contain the breaches in the tanks. Interestingly, a few has been used to contain the breach in Retteri. “Now the breach has been sealed and water is receding in Madhavaram area,” said a PWD official.
“We will be using the sandbags to contain the inundation in other parts of the cities,” he said.
Former engineer-in-chief of Water Resources Department S S Rajagopal said that heavy inundation in Kancheepuram is due to global warming.
Tamil Nadu on an average gets 910mm of rains in one year. However, Kancheepuram got a record 340mm of rains in one day. This is due to the global warming, said Rajagopal.
He also said that this is the first time Palar is flowing after a gap of 10 to 15 years.
Interestingly, the inundation in the city is being blamed on constructions on the water course. A typical example is Balajee Nagar which is inundated as it is built on water course, said a PWD official.
The biggest issue is the man-made breaches. “If the manmade breaches are contained then the water could be easily drained off,” said the official.
Sources also state that it is only during rains the topic of constructions built near catchment areas or on the water courses are being taken up. Otherwise nobody bothers, sources added

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