People living in several residential areas close to Uppanar drain in Orleanpet constituency are demanding more efforts to ensure the construction of road overbridge over the drain does not cause anymore flooding in their locality during rains.

Their concerns over flooding arise from their experience during a few hours of rain that lashed Puducherry in the first week of May. The heavy rain resulted in water entering the residential areas, such as Goubert Nagar, Kennedy Nagar, Poonkulam, Anthoniyar Koil Street, Vanjinathan Street, Kamarajar Street and Subramanian Street in Orleanpet constituency. The most-affected were the residents of Goubert Nagar and Kennedy Nagar as rainwater entered several houses in the locality. 

“We were used to flooding only during northeast monsoon time. The rain that lashed the town on the night of May 4 lasted only for a few hours, but rainwater entered our houses. It is because of the ongoing road overbridge work. The canal is full of debris, sand and concrete structures. The carrying capacity of the drain has reduced considerably resulting in spillage of water,” said a resident of Goubert Nagar.

Residents in the locality want the government to appoint officers to monitor daily the progress of the construction work and flood mitigation measures put in place.

After people complained of severe hardships during the recent rain, Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan along with Secretary, Public Works Department A. Muthamma inspected the spot early this month. The Lt. Governor directed the officials to expedite the construction work. He had also directed the PWD officials to undertake flood mitigation measures in the canal.

Independent legislator Nehru alias Kuppusamy said, “People residing in the locality raised concerns following the slow progress of the work. Though water receded fast after the rain on May 4, residents said the situation would have been much different had the intensity of rain lasted. Nowadays, as weather has become unpredictable, the residents are concerned. The blockages in the drain have not been cleared yet and we are only three months from the onset of Northeast monsoon. The government should act fast to speed up the work,” he said.

When contacted, the Secretary said directions have been issued to the contractor to expedite the work. “Just a few days ago, we visited the area. Work to remove sand and other debris was in progress. We will soon award the work to dredge the canal for increasing the drain’s carrying capacity. As a long term plan, the government was in the process of preparing a detailed project report to improve the condition of Uppanar canal,” she said.

The road overbridge (ROB), originally conceived in 2005-06, to connect the busy arterial stretches of Kamaraj Salai and Maraimalai Adigal Salai, was hanging fire for several years due to various reasons, including administrative lapses, arbitration and lack of funds.

The two-lane bridge was designed to cover a distance of 732 metres. When the work was stopped in 2019, construction of the bridge for 632 metres was complete. Work resumed again in March last year to link the bridge to the point near Newtone Theatre on Marimalaiadigal Salai and Balaji Theatre on Kamaraj Salai.