WRD begins work to upgrade causeway across the Adyar near Manapakkam

Localities such as Manapakkam and Kolapakkam were inundated for several days during the 2015 floods as the causeway obstructed the flow of rainwater.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

The long-pending work to upgrade a causeway across the Adyar near Manapakkam, which caused flooding during the 2015 deluge, started on Friday.

The Water Resources Department (WRD) is implementing the ₹24.8-crore project to build a bridge across the river with funds from the Officers Training Academy in Manapakkam. Various residential areas on both sides of the river, including Manapakkam and Kolapakkam, were inundated for several days during the 2015 floods as the causeway had obstructed the flow of rainwater. The river had carried a peak flow of nearly 80,000 (cusecs) of floodwater at the time.

The areas were similarly inundated in the following years since the work to upgrade the causeway had been delayed. Though the remains of a pedestrian bridge, which linked the OTA campus on both sides of the river, was removed in 2017, the causeway continued to pose the threat of flooding during the monsoons.

WRD officials said the work was planned based on the directive of the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal to the OTA to remove debris in the river and upgrade the causeway. The work to build a 175 m wide bridge across the river has started. This is expected to ensure smooth flow of floodwater in the Adyar and prevent overflows into the neighbouring areas. The bridge, which will be 10 m in height, will be built by the end of the year. It will improve the flood carrying capacity of the river to about 80,000 cusecs.

Residents of Manapakkam said the river had undergone restoration on some of the stretches. However, the WRD must initiate measures to replace similar structures that hinder the flow of the river at various other places, such as Tharapakkam-Anakaputhur.