Release Thiruppugazh committee recommendations, Anbumani urges TN Govt

PMK President Anbumani Ramadoss. | Photo credit: S. SIVA SARAVANAN

PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Sunday urged the state government to release the Thiruppugazh committee report and implement its recommendations after Chennai received heavy rainfall on Saturday.

He said in a statement that several parts of Chennai received rain of cloudburst intensity and if such incidents were to become frequent, it would require urgent implementation of flood mitigation measures.

“For more than five years, the Pattali Makkal Katchi has been warning that climate change could lead to cloudburst-like situations in Chennai and that the city’s flood and stormwater drainage infrastructure needs to be strengthened to deal with them. Yesterday’s rainfall only reinforced that warning. There is also a risk that the situation will worsen this year due to the impact of floods, which the government needs to consider.

There was a possibility that Chennai may witness even heavier rainfall in the coming days than what it experienced on Saturday. The climate change that threatens the world could cause impacts that no one can imagine. “With this in mind, it is the government’s responsibility to take comprehensive flood control measures,” he said.

Even after 43 months, the Thirupugazh committee report has still not been released. The previous DMK government said the report contained a total of 161 flood mitigation recommendations and that 101 of them were being implemented.

“However, no one knows what the 161 recommendations were or which 101 recommendations were actually implemented,” he said. He added that Chennai must not allow itself to be submerged by floods again.

Published – 18 October 2026 23:56 IST