Work to build channel to divert water from Adyar river to begin in March

The project is aimed at reducing flooding in Chennai’s southern suburbs; work is expected to be completed by the next northeast monsoon

The Water Resources Department (WRD) plans to start work on the construction of a channel from the Somangalam tributary to the Adyar river, and to take up other improvement work at the river, by early March. The project is set to reduce flooding in the southern suburbs.

Every year, areas such as Royappa Nagar, Mahalakshmi Nagar, Varadharajapuram and West Tambaram remain inundated for several weeks whenever there is peak flow in the Adyar. As many of these surrounding areas are at a lower altitudes than the river, there is difficulty in draining floodwater when the water flow in the Adyar reaches its maximum capacity.