219 Vulnerable Spots Identified Ahead of Northeast Monsoon, GCC Commissioner Says

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has identified 219 vulnerable spots, including low-lying areas and stretches along the OMR and ECR, as part of its preparedness for the Northeast Monsoon, Commissioner GS Sameeran said.

The Chief Minister held meetings with departmental officials on September 8 and September 22 to review the measures taken in connection with the Northeast Monsoon and issued several directives. In particular, he ordered that the estuaries at Ennore, near Napier Bridge on the Cooum River, at Besant Nagar on the Adyar River and at Muttukadu in Kovalam should be desilted. He also said that these places will be continuously monitored and follow-up action will be taken.

Based on this, the water resources department has taken up 200 projects with an estimated cost of ₹42 crore, of which nearly 48% of the work has been completed. “We inspected the desilting work that is going on in the Adyar estuary. It is a dynamic estuary. Every day there is erosion on one side. In the case of the Adyar, although it is 17.7 km long in the Chennai Corporation area, it is a large river with a total length of about 42 km. When water flows into it from the controlled basins on Wednesday,” he said in the watershed in the basin on Wednesday. undertaken in the Adyar estuary before the northeast monsoon.

“In Tiruneermalai, water from the Chembarambakkam catchment can reach up to 30,000 cusecs at high levels. Similarly, water from areas like Orathur, Nanmangalam and Somangalam can converge in Tiruneermalai and bring up to around 19,000 of these 000 cusecs, another urban area1 contributes5 in addition to 5 Altogether during the flood season, the Adyar estuary reaches up to 70,000 cusecs, however, under normal conditions, the river is capable of receiving around 35,000 to 40,000 cusecs,” he added.

On Arcot Road, complex stormwater works are restricted to night hours due to ongoing Metro Rail projects, with Plan B using 100 HP motors ready to pump water where gaps remain. Similarly, although urbanization has changed the historic water bodies around Pallikaranai, the authorities have planned drains and weir modifications to handle large watersheds and swamp flows, he said.

In addition, 219 vulnerable low-lying locations have been identified where major campuses and metro stations will use phased pumping to prevent immediate flooding of roads. Finally, preparedness is being strengthened with 1,320 motor pumps and 72 lifeboats, supported by cash advances issued to the Fisheries Department for quick response, the commissioner said.

If the mouth is very narrow, backflow will occur. Therefore, widening of the estuary is one of the works being carried out, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner GS Sameeran said while inspecting the preventive measures being carried out at the Adyar estuary on Wednesday (September 23, 2026). | Photo credit: Special arrangement

According to the press release, desilting of 1,10,211 pits was completed in the first phase, 65,076 pits are being filled in the second phase. At 105 missing places in a length of 922 meters, work has started to connect the storm sewer. Work has been completed at 37 locations and is underway at 68 locations, the report added.

Desilting work is underway in 1,683 km of storm water drains, of which 1,102 km have been completed, the commissioner noted.

Desilting and removal of water hyacinths was carried out in 44 waterways managed by the GCC, 13 canals managed by the Department of Water Resources and the Cooum, Adyar and Buckingham canals. Improvement work covering 8,439 meters has been started in Captain Cotton Canal, Secretariat Colony Canal, Otteri Nullah and Virugambakkam Canal, of which 6,977 meters have been completed.

The branches of 60,141 trees were pruned between January 1 and September 21, 2026, the report said. An online volunteer registration system has also been developed and monitoring is done through the Integrated Command and Control Centers at Ripon Buildings, GCC Headquarters and three regional offices.

Published – 23 Sep 2026 21:39 IST