Chennai Corporation to reconstruct bridge over Kodungaiyur canal
The local body is working from all corners to plug the leakages, as floods have been a huge burden for the city for many years.
Greater Chennai Corporation (Photo: Hemanathan M)
CHENNAI: Learning from the previous crisis, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has proposed the reconstruction of the bridge over the Kodungaiyur canal as part of the flood mitigation works.
The local body is working from all corners to plug the leakages, as floods have been a huge burden for the city for many years. The GCC has now floated tenders inviting private players to undertake the work of demolishing the bridge over the Kodungaiyur canal at South Avenue.
GCC has estimated that Rs 2.50 crore would be the total cost to complete the work, and has planned to resume the bridge operation before the onset of the northeast monsoon, informed corporation sources said.
During the monsoon seasons in the previous years, most of the residents in Kodungaiyur, especially Muthamil Nagar, were completely cut out from the rest of the city as flood water rose above the waist height, said S Jeevan of MDMK, the councillor of Ward 35, Kodungaiyur.
As the height of the bridge over the canal was low, the flood water flowed over the bridge, surrounding the residential areas and causing huge damage to the public, he said.
“I expressed concern over the flood crisis in the council meeting and highlighted the need to raise the bridge level and widen the sluice of the canal to combat the flood. Now the GCC is going to fulfil the request of the public. If the works are completed before the monsoon, it will be a huge relief for Kodungaiyur residents,” he added.
According to the plan devised by the local body, the successful bidder will demolish the existing bridge over the Kodungaiyur canal and reconstruct it by heightening the level to provide enough space, ensuring free flow of flood water through the canal.
“We are working closely to ensure the city is free from floods during the rainy seasons, especially removing plastic dumps from canals, heightening the canal walls, and rejuvenating the canal lines,” said an official with GCC.
The tender has been floated, and the work will commence by July once a successful bidder is found and completed ahead of the monsoon, he added.
