Chennai - Waterways Cleaning and Restoration Project Updates

[Arul Murugan]

Friends,

Please use this thread for Coumn river, Buckingham canal, Adyar river and other canals cleaning and restoration project news and updates

Chennai waterways map:

[IMG]http://i39.************/2i252xt.jpg[/IMG]

[Arul Murugan]

Waterways clean-up starts next week

Rs 80cr Project, To Be Completed In 3 Years, Will Help Prevent Flooding In City

Julie Mariappan | TNN

Chennai: In three years from now, the city’s waterways will sport a fresh new look if the Chennai Corporation’s works starting next week are implemented in letter and spirit.

The project, covered by the Centre’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), is aimed at cleaning up and strengthening the Kolathur, Velachery and North Buckingham canals and preventing floods. Work orders for the project with an estimated cost of Rs 80.55 crore have been issued, Mayor M Subramanian said. “Improvements to the existing stormwater drains and minor waterways in these areas will be taken up immediately. New drains will also be built wherever necessary,” Subramanian said.

The project, it is said, will help plug all sewage outfalls from the neighbouring colonies and strengthen the bund, besides increasing the capacity of the drains. The city has 12 watersheds — Captain Cotton Canal, Kolathur, Virugambakkam, Velachery, Otteri, North Buckingham Canal, Adyar, Cooum, South Buckingham Canal, Royapuram, Centre Buckingham Canal and Mambalam/Nandanam Canal — which have been identified for development.

“The exercise will help mitigate the sufferings of people during monsoon,” Subrarmanian said. A consultant appointed by the corporation, in its detailed project report (DPR), disclosed the sorry state of affairs of the city’s micro and macro drains. While clogging of stormwater drains cause waterlogging on roads, sewerage connections from houses are emptied into these drains. Improper maintenance due to encroachments over the drains and dumping of waste and sewage outfalls are the other problems.

The local body is likely to finalise the tenders for the rest of the watersheds before May. The identified contractors for South Buckingham Canal and the nullahs of Virugambakkam and Otteri will be placed before the council meet on April 29. Tenders are in various stages of finalisation for rest of the packages, sources said. The public works department, which has to undertake a similar developmental work in major waterways, is yet to finalise tenders.



Times of India

[prasanna]

--deleted--

[arun82]

can anyone post pictures of the silt cleaning near island grounds.

[Mad 4 Madras]

Originally Posted by Arul Murugan

Times of India

35% Center Fund, 15% State Fund and 50% Corporation Fund. Already Chennai Corporation is debt ridden, can they make up 50% of this amount that comes 40 Crores. Hope this goes on stream without any delay.

[MyNation]

Chennai: Almost 3,000 residents from settlements off Greams Road are worried about losing their homes to the Cooum river restoration project after a surprise enumeration carried out by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) a week ago. The activists said officials – without informing residents of the reasons behind the drive – had threatened to bulldoze houses if they refused to reveal their names and have their photos taken. Activists said the initiative went against the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007.
“We asked officials for the reason, they did not tell us. We have lived here for three generations. Why would we want to move?” said Sulochana, a 55-year-old resident of Mackeys Garden. Her colony was one of the localities that was surveyed along with Thideer Nagar, River Side, Rangoon Street, Kaliamman Street and Ramasamy Street.
Officials from TNSCB maintained that the department carries out enumeration as and when directives on areas demarcated for the river restoration project are received from the PWD. The terms of the NRRP state, people should be informed about arrangements for resettlement of the affected families during such a drive. “People here run businesses like petty shops or work as house maids. My husband is an auto driver. Our children study here. If they shift us to places like Kannagi Nagar and Chemmanchery where there are no facilities how will we earn a living?” said Jayameena (27), a resident.
On Thursday, activists from Citizens’ Rights Forum will petition TNSCB with all the residents’ signatures and requesting a public meeting to discuss the issue.

Source : Epaper TOI

[arun82]

To make this project sucessful. The govt should to mandate grey water recycling for large industries and housing complexes. it should be made compulsory similar to rain water harvesting. Effective recycling practice will ensure less ground water dependence and avoid pressure on the drainage system. If NGO's and local govt bodies along the river helps in grey water recycling it will reduce the sewage let out in the river and increase the ground water level.

[arun82]

If the cooum is restored somewhat similar to the Adyar poonga then chennai will be the best city in the world. Boats similar to the ones in Dal Lake JK plying in the cooum bordered with lush green gardens and fountains. Cant ask for more...

[cityrider82]

Dude Great pics.. i can see how lovely when this opens to public.... and i like your patriotism towards our city... but reality is something mammoth differences... we need to sail long way to reach best city...

[arun82]

We can really do it....this project can provide employment to huge number of people..for eg if boating is introduced. Then many people will get employment and it will also attract huge tourist inflow. The govt will earn money from tourism. Further if the MNC pitch thru CSR for developing the gardens it can help to increase the green cover as will as increase the health of the people. Already the tiny parks in the cities are received will by the old people and the kids. The cooum project will further enhance the beauty of the city. One thing is people should help the govt to maintain the city and not spoil it

[ChennaiChap]

Originally Posted by arun82

We can really do it....this project can provide employment to huge number of people..for eg if boating is introduced. Then many people will get employment and it will also attract huge tourist inflow. The govt will earn money from tourism. Further if the MNC pitch thru CSR for developing the gardens it can help to increase the green cover as will as increase the health of the people. Already the tiny parks in the cities are received will by the old people and the kids. The cooum project will further enhance the beauty of the city. One thing is people should help the govt to maintain the city and not spoil it

I agree that cleaning up cooum will definitely add beauty to the city, but that will not make Chennai the best in the world But, that will be a very good beginning!

[Fusionist]

Originally Posted by arun82

this is one interesting project. I really didnt like the Marina or Panagal Park ideas, but this one atleast has some thought behind it. Hope it comes out well.

[ramvaradan]

Originally Posted by arun82

We can really do it....this project can provide employment to huge number of people..for eg if boating is introduced. Then many people will get employment and it will also attract huge tourist inflow. The govt will earn money from tourism. Further if the MNC pitch thru CSR for developing the gardens it can help to increase the green cover as will as increase the health of the people. Already the tiny parks in the cities are received will by the old people and the kids. The cooum project will further enhance the beauty of the city. One thing is people should help the govt to maintain the city and not spoil it

Coovum is a whole new beast, and it is actually naive to expect that people who have misbehaved for decades will cleanup their act and wise-up just because a few minority 'hopefuls' have a great vision for clean Chennai. Part of the design, should make the river bed/banks tamper-proof to a reasonable extent such as by providing paved slopes for the banks, fences at some places, surveillance guards/devices at a few places. There will still be a few remnant slum-dwellers who squat alongside for the toilets/ablutions.

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

[cofee]

New "Salt Pans" inside city limits in OMR - Buckingham canal that is much cleaner at souther leg of OMR to be ruined

When everyone is talking of potable water and aquifer regions, it may be shocking to know that within the present (extended city limits) of Madras, new salt pans have been allowed to be setup in Chemmencherry. Preparatory works are in full swing for setting-up salt pans in the areas south and east of the Institute of Asian Studies and south of Indian Maritime University.

In the immediate vicinity are various projects like Puravankara Swanlake, Olympia Opaline, TVH Ouranya Bay, Indian Maritime University, Mayajal, Royal Sea View, etc.

This development may spoil the ground water in the local area. In this high value land area, is it commercially prudent to use it for salt pans? The area was originally intended for an IT Park. Is the salt department acting in a responsible manner? When there is so much demand for housing sites is it correct and ethically proper to turn good lands with potable water into salt pans in such inhuman manner?

God save us. CLEAN WATER WAY WILL ONLY BE A DREAM.

[kodai]

Lets envision cooum like below, Cooum has great potential to chennai and us believe it or not





opening bridges

[georgenadar]

[ferrari_fan]

The Cooum might look like that during the monsoon floods!

Nice pics of London and Venice, but a ridiculously far-fetched comparison I must say..

[sridhar_n]

Yeap, the thought is too far fetched.

How are they going to ensure that coovum has water all through the year? - will the treated sewage water be pumped into coovum ? will they reduce the width or do something to allow the sea water to enter it and may be upto some distance there would be sea water?

[Mad 4 Madras]

They are going to continuously dredge the riverbeds and mouths in many places if I'm not wrong.

Originally Posted by sridhar_n

Yeap, the thought is too far fetched.

Imagination has no boundaries

[kodai]

not every wish come true, but this one(cooum becoming venice waterway or Thames river in London) might I believe.

They might have to let the sea water into cooum outside the city limits and let it reach Napier bridge and back to sea again

this will make the water clean and ensure continuous flow. I couldn't think of any other source that ensures continuous flow of water and I don't think storm and drain water will be enough for the boats like venice in the pictures above.

Water transportation is very good for chennai, imagine taking a speed boat from paris corner to nellankarai or mahabalipuram for an instance, how much time it saves.