Work to widen, desilt a portion of Adyar river near the mouth speeded up

The Water Resources Department has accelerated work on desilting and widening a portion of the Adyar till Thiru. Vi. Ka. bridge

The Water Resources Department has accelerated work on desilting and widening a portion of the Adyar till Thiru. Vi. Ka. bridge.

Nearly 30% of the work to remove the silt has been completed. Mounds of silt are seen near the river mouth. The officials said that nearly one lakh cubic metres of silt had been cleared so far from the 2-km stretch of the estuary to Thiru. Vi. Ka. bridge.

The ₹21.63-crore project aims at increasing the flood-carrying capacity of the river, improve soil texture and ensure smooth tidal exchange on the stretch near the river mouth. Desilting would be carried out over an area of 176.35 acres in the river.

Once the estimated five lakh cubic metres of silt deposited in the riverbed is cleared, the Adyar river would have an improved capacity to carry 50% additional flow. It may be recalled that the stretch had a peak flow of nearly 75,000 cusecs during the floods last year.

The maximum quantity of silt cleared would be transported to the Kodungaiyur dump yard and nearly 1.90 lakh cubic metres of silt would be used on the OSR land belonging to the Greater Chennai Corporation, the officials said. Some quantum of silt would be used to strengthen the river bund. The silt would be stored only for a short period without causing any obstruction to the mangroves, they said.

Meanwhile, a team of scientists from the National Centre for Coastal Research took samples from the river as part of its monitoring exercise. The team would study various parameters, including the water quality, sediment quality, chemical oxygen demand, coliform and presence of heavy metals.