More boats for flood-prone areas this monsoon season in Chennai

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and councillors have begun mobilising boats to flood-prone areas as part of monsoon preparedness in the city.

GCC Commissioner G.S. Sameeran said: “The GCC has mobilised 132 boats for flood-prone areas this Northeast monsoon.”

Residents said more number of boats have been deployed in many flood-prone wards of Chennai Corporation this Northeast monsoon.

S.B. Sekar, president of Madipakkam South East Youth Welfare Association, said their neighbourhood received six boats. The six streets in the area have flooded up to a depth of four feet during previous monsoon seasons. “Last year, they sent only one boat to our locality. This year, we have six boats,” he said. R. Sethuraman, a resident, said they had demanded that the GCC utilise the boats to also distribute essential commodities, including milk, to those who call helpline 1913 during floods.

Ward 177 councillor P. Manimaran said they mobilised 20 boats in areas such as Tansi Nagar and VGP Selva Nagar in Velachery on Wednesday.

“We have mobilised 53 volunteers. Each volunteer will cover one km of the streets. We have 53 km of roads in our ward and most of the streets are prone to flooding,” he said.

Several such areas experienced flooding to a depth of six feet during previous monsoon seasons.

In many of the flood-prone areas, the councillors have also arranged additional boats and volunteers to help sick residents reach arterial roads, where ambulances are stationed to transport them to hospitals.

A post on social media read: “Please consider deploying at least two boats on alternate streets in vulnerable parts of Velachery. This could prove to be a lifesaver this season.”

Residents have also posted messages on social media demanding more boats as a life-saving measure during intense rainfall exceeding 25 cm, when drains could overflow and pumping or other conventional measures may be inadequate.