Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin advises officials to explore feasibility of safe parking spaces for vehicles on high ground during rain

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Tuesday ordered officials to explore the feasibility of providing safe parking spaces for residents in flood-prone areas of the city.

Following an inspection of flood preparedness in the city, Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin shared on social media: “We have inspected areas where heavy rainfall has been recorded. Inspected water stagnation in a low-lying area near Velachery MRTS railway station and advised authorities to take preventive measures. During rainy season, the issue of parking vehicles on flyovers in Chennai in areas such as Velachery area has been reported in the past. In a bid to find a solution to the issue, directed officials to explore feasibility of finding safe parking spaces on high ground.”

As residents have been parking cars in elevated stretches of the bridges, flyovers and grade separators during the flood, traffic police officials are planning to issue a detailed press release on Wednesday providing guidelines to help residents park vehicles in elevated stretches of roads during floods.

The Chennai Corporation has already started exploring the feasibility of finding safe parking spaces on high ground for cars of residents during floods.

Ward 84 councillor J. John said that during the previous monsoon many residents have lost their cars because they did not have information about safe locations to park cars during floods. “All our streets in the old Korattur Village do not get flooded during the rains as they are at a higher level when compared with other newly developed parts of the ward. The GCC officials should share the list of safe streets to park cars during the floods with traffic police support. Big shops such as Saravana Stores near Padi Flyover may be persuaded to permit parking of residents’ vehicles during heavy rains,” said Mr.John.

A. Francis, president of the Federation of Thoraipakkam Residents Welfare Associations, said: “During the previous monsoon, residents used to park cars along 200 feet radial road from Thoraipakkam to Pallavaram. The stretch from OMR Signal to Chennai One is safe for parking cars. The flood risk is high in other parts of the Thoraipakkam-Pallavaram 200 Feet Radial Road. Officials do not share information about floods in advance. Our areas in Thoraipakkam, Anand Nagar, MCN Nagar, Vinayagar Nagar, and Industrial Estate gets floodwaters more than 4 feet high. We need boats,” he said.

Flood infrastructure

Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin on Tuesday inspected flood-preparedness projects in various parts of Chennai and directed officials to expedite work ahead of heavy rains.

According to an official release, Mr. Udhayanidhi inspected work on dredging beneath the Karapakkam bridge across Okkiyam Maduvu in the southern part of the city to prevent flooding. Work on widening the waterway near a private college is under way. Mr. Udhayanidhi ordered WRD officials to expedite work on the construction of a retaining wall to hold back flood waters near Kannagi Nagar. He also inspected the bridge constructed by the Highways Department connecting Sholinganallur and Medavakkam. The bridge has been designed to facilitate the flow of water from the marshland during the monsoon and ease traffic flow during the rains. He ordered Highways Department officials to demolish the old bridge to prevent flooding.

Mr. Udhayanidhi also ordered officials to expedite work on the ₹27 crore project to facilitate the flow of floodwaters from Pallikaranai marshland through Okkiyam Maduvvu. He inspected the work on widening the canal near the metro rail construction site near Karapakkam. Special Implementation Department Additional Chief Secretary Pradeep Yadav, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran, and Water Resources Department Secretary J. Jayakanthan accompanied him.