Coimbatore: No need for integrated storm water drain management in Coimbatore: Corporation Commissioner.
Coimbatore: "There is no need for an integrated storm water drain management in Coimbatore, as the city hardly witnesses areas inundated with flood waters," said Kumaravel Pandian, Coimbatore Corporation as an answer to the question on why there is no integrated storm water drain management (ISWD) across the city.
Over the arrival of Northeast monsoon predicted to start this week, other cities including Chennai are on war footing to implement storm drainage systems to prevent areas inundating with waters. However, there is no noise regarding this, here.
According to City Corporation Commissioner, Kumaravel Pandian, predominantly the city has flat roads. The gradient level is the same, hence the water flows instead of inundating. He also opined that roads in Chennai are not conducive for free flow of water rather leads inundation.
An officer who has contributed significantly in Greater Chennai Corporation prior to his appointment to Coimbatore, Kumaravel Pandian told implemention of integrated storm water drain management has already commenced in Chennai to prevent 2015 flood-like scenarios.
In 2019, residents of Housing Board Colony in Ganapathy here in Coimbatore complained about inundation of rain water and demanded that a storm water drain be constructed. Unfortunately, all the requests seem to have fallen on deaf years, the residents lament.
When questioned on the grievance by the residents, the Corporation Commissioner said the reason for inundation in that particular area is due to the construction of road without removing bitumen top and thereby the height of the surface level has considerably increased.
He added that a team of engineers from CCMC have thoroughly inspected the area and suggested that there is no necessity for a storm water drain. “Even though we have to implement integrated storm water drain, it is not a simple task. We have to first obtain approval by CMC and then by the government", he noted.
However, construction of Rain water Harvesting System across the city had already begun and is funded by CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre, the Commissioner said.