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Corporation to take care of four drainage channels

The Tiruchi Corporation would soon take over from the Public Works Department the maintenance of four major drainage channels in the city, said Transport Minister K.N.Nehru here on Tuesday.

While several drainage channels criss-cross the city, eight of them are major ones that serve as a vital network of storm water drains. All of them had been irrigation canals and four of them – the Virupachipuram, Vannarapettai, Thennur Irattai and Kottai Vaicals – were handed over to the Corporation for maintenance by the Public Works Department some years back as they no longer had any ayacut area.

The other four – Kathan, Thotti, Devadhanam and Tharanallur vaicals – are also to be taken over by the Corporation now, Mr.Nehru said after inspecting the progress of the flood prevention scheme works and some of the flood-prone areas in the city ahead of the onset of monsoon.

Mr.Nehru also disclosed that the four channels which were already under the Corporation maintenance would be widened and desilted within the next fortnight. He instructed the Corporation officials to remove all encroachments on the channels immediately. About 760 encroachments have already been identified on the eight major drainages in the city.

The Corporation, he said, was planning to provide concrete linings to all the major drainage channels. The project was planned to be taken up utilising funds expected under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

After inspecting the flood-prone areas around Edamalaipattipudur, Mr.Nehru said the PWD would soon renovate the channel running from Kollankulam to the Puthur Weir. A culvert across the Tiruchi-Madurai Highway would be widened by the Highways Department. Another culvert across the Tiruchi-Dindigul Highway near National College would also be widened to ensure free flow of the drain.

M.Moorthy, Chief Engineer, PWD, Tiruchi region, who also accompanied the Minister, said that work on 47 of the 49 components of the Rs.-253 crore flood prevention scheme were under wayAll the works would be completed before June 2010. Work on strengthening the vulnerable stretches of the Cauvery river at Vengur and Melur has been completed.

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