Residents of AGS Colony initiate citizen’s audit to address flooding in the area

AGS Colony Residents' Welfare Association conducts citizen's audit and GIS study to address recurrent flooding in Chennai.

The AGS Colony Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) from West Velachery has initiated a citizen’s audit and roped in a geographic information system (GIS) consultant in an attempt to understand the multiple causes of recurrent flooding in the area and work out possible solutions.

In December 2023, Cyclone Michaung caused flooding in several localities including Velachery, West Velachery, and Madipakkam. Due to the rainwater run-off from Velachery lake, hundreds of residents faced severe hardships. Particularly, AGS Colony in West Velachery, Srinivasa Nagar in Madipakkam, and areas along the Pallikaranai marshland in East Velachery suffered huge damage.

The members of the RWA, accompanied by GIS consultant Dayanand Krishnan, inspected the Velachery lake and the nearby downstream areas on Tuesday. In the initial study, the various factors affecting the Velachery lake and the possible causes for flooding were analysed.

As per the study, the waterbody does not have proper tank bunds, surplus weir arrangements are absent, and the only available sluice gates do not function. The study also found that though storm-water drains were linked to the lake, they were carrying sewage.

The group of residents and Mr. Krishnan have planned to file a petition under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, seeking various details of the lake, including drain capacity and downstream connectivity, from the Water Resources Department and the Greater Chennai Corporation. The group also plans to carry out a canal elevation study from AGS Colony to the marshland, a flooding study for AGS Colony with the help of GIS mapping, and identify various bottlenecks for surplus water in the marshland till Kazhuveli.