Chennai corporation sets up Mambalam canal desilting before North East monsoon

Chennai: Preparations to improve the water-carrying capacity of the Mambalam Canal have gathered pace, with the Greater Chennai Corporation planning a major desilting operation before the northeast monsoon.

The 5.7-km waterway will be cleared and deepened at a cost of Rs 46.7 lakh.

Tenders have been invited, and the contractor is likely to be selected shortly. The proposed work will benefit areas vulnerable to monsoon flooding, particularly T Nagar, West Mambalam, Nandanam, and Saidapet, through which the canal passes.

Accumulated silt will be removed, while selected portions of the waterway will be deepened by nearly four feet.

The project also covers the removal of obstructions inside culverts at Venkatnarayana Road and CIT Nagar to ensure the uninterrupted discharge of rainwater.

Another crucial component is the expansion of the canal’s outfall near the YMCA premises, where it empties into the Adyar River.

Widening the outlet is expected to prevent water from backing up in residential and commercial areas during spells of intense rainfall.

Multiple robotic excavators will be deployed to carry out the desilting operation. The first phase will begin near Valluvar Kottam, where an approximately 300-metre stretch is scheduled to be cleared. The canal is at its narrowest in this locality, measuring only about three metres in width.

Desilting and widening activities will simultaneously be undertaken near Bazullah Road and Venkatnarayana Road.

Chennai Metro Rail is also expected to assist the civic body in clearing the portion of the waterway located near the construction zone of the Panagal Park–Nandanam underground metro corridor.

Around nine encroachments reportedly remain along the canal, including a temple structure across the Theagaraya Road section.

The GCC’s Teynampet zone is preparing to issue notices as part of efforts to remove structures obstructing the waterway.

The project aims to increase the canal’s carrying capacity from the existing 200 cusecs to about 500 cusecs. Its capacity had earlier been limited to 138 cusecs before the removal of some encroachments along MGR Salai and GN Chetty Road improved the flow.

The latest intervention follows critical findings by the Comptroller and Auditor General regarding the earlier restoration of the canal under Chennai’s Smart City programme. Despite an expenditure of Rs 59.4 crore, significant portions of the planned work were left unfinished. The audit report, tabled in the Tamil Nadu Assembly recently, also found that the civic body had failed to take action against the contractor responsible for the incomplete project. The fresh desilting initiative is therefore expected to address unresolved deficiencies while strengthening flood-prevention measures before the monsoon.

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