Velachery Residents Petition Chief Minister Vijay to Desilt Blocked MRTS Culverts
On Wednesday, residents of Velachery submitted a petition to Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay appealing for the immediate desilting of two blocked culverts beneath the MRTS railway track near the Velachery MRTS station to prevent flooding ahead of the upcoming northeast monsoon.
The petition, sent by the AGS Colony Residents Welfare Association (ACRWA), warned that severe clogging in the culverts could trigger backup flooding in several residential neighbourhoods. The affected areas include AGS Colony, Vijaya Nagar, Ram Nagar, Saraswathi Nagar, and Andal Nagar.
According to the association, the two culverts and the connecting stormwater channel are maintained by the State Highways Department. They serve as a crucial hydraulic link that carries surplus water from Velachery lake and Veerangal Odai beneath the MRTS corridor.
Presently, the culverts and channel are heavily choked with silt, vegetation, water hyacinth, and debris, which severely restricts the flow of stormwater.
Geetha Ganesh, secretary of the association, stated in the representation that the current state of the channel poses a serious flood risk to multiple residential neighbourhoods during moderate to heavy rainfall.
Residents noted that while desilting operations were carried out before the MRTS services were extended to St. Thomas Mount, no similar maintenance has been undertaken since regular train services commenced on the extended stretch in March this year.
The association cautioned that failing to restore the carrying capacity of the culverts before the northeast monsoon could result in severe inundation, damaging public and private property and affecting thousands of residents.
The petition requested the State Highways Department to immediately clear the obstructions and establish a periodic maintenance schedule before every monsoon.
Copies of the representation were also sent to the minister for highways, senior officials of the highways and municipal administration departments, the Greater Chennai Corporation, and other local authorities to urge coordinated action.
