800 km of Madurai roads to be re-laid before onset of monsoon, says Mayor

800 km of Madurai roads to be re-laid before onset of monsoon, says Mayor

With the rainy season fast approaching, civic authorities discussed the level of preparedness at a meeting chaired by Mayor Indrani Pon Vasanth at Anna Maligai, the headquarters of Madurai Corporation, on Tuesday.

Accompanied by Corporation Commissioner K. J. Praveen Kumar, Deputy Mayor Nagarajan and zonal chairpersons and senior officials from health, engineering and other departments, the Mayor said that roads which were bad and not motorable should be repaired and patch works done.

The Corporation had already issued orders through tenders to contractors to relay roads for a total length of about 800 km across the 100 wards before the onset of monsoon. Another 250 km had also been added and bunds of all the 33 waterbodies would be strengthened.

In many of the tanks, desilting works had been completed. Encroachment removal was underway in a couple of channels and it would be completed on time, officials said.

The Mayor said the civic authorities should closely monitor the weather forecast and alert the people to stay safe. Milch animal/other cattle owners should also be informed to take precautionary measures. Low-lying areas, which were prone for flooding, should be identified and if needed, motors should be kept ready for pumping out rainwater, Ms Indrani said.

Later, the Mayor went around a few of the registration centres in the city where the process of enrolling the applications received for Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai Thittam was underway.

Speaking to reporters, the Mayor said the exercise was underway at 512 centres in all the zones in the city. For the benefit of applicants, the centres would be open even on Saturdays and Sundays. The timings for registration are 9.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The first phase of registration would be open till August 4.