VC Garden in Mandaveli pins its hopes on HDPE pipes

The exercise being carried out at this neighbourhood is essentially an alternative being worked for streets that are too narrow to have regular stormwater drains

Certain localities are hitched to an unfortunate star, one that shines enough to draw attention only in distressing circumstances.

Whern the sky is a bag with a non-functional zipper, VC Garden on St Mary’s Road in Mandaveli is a surefire headline-grabber.

Last year, during a heavy spell in December, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) got a boat to chug-chug through VC Garden First Street and Second Street to reach essential supplies to residents.

“We operated one boat for both streets, getting groceries and medicine to residents. There was water stagnation for three days, with VC Garden Second Street being more severely affected, as it is cul-de-sac and avenues for natural drainage of water were non-existent. On First Street, water drained slowly,” says Clinton, assistant engineer, Ward 124, GCC.

Unfortunately, these streets are so restricted in space they cannot have a solution they need the most, one that would allow them to exist peacefully in obscurity all through the year.

“The regular stormwater drains cannot be laid in these streets,” says Clinton, assistant engineer, Ward 124, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).

“In streets too narrow for stormwater drains, usually, CMWSSB’s pumping stations come to the rescue. At that time, the motors at the three pumping stations in Mylapore had gone kaput due to excessive pressure.”