Tamil Nadu Begins Three-Day Waterbody Desilting Drive in Chennai

The Tamil Nadu government will launch a three-day desilting and maintenance drive across major waterbodies in Chennai and its suburbs from July 27 to 29, ahead of the upcoming monsoon season.

Water Resources Minister N Anand will inaugurate the initiative on Monday and conduct field inspections at six key locations during the three-day programme. The drive is aimed at improving the capacity and flow of Chennai's extensive water network and ensuring that desilting and maintenance works are completed before the monsoon.

According to an official release, the Chennai region's water network includes 60 km of rivers, 54 km of canals and around 3,700 hectares of lakes, making regular desilting and maintenance crucial for effective water management.

The initiative will be led by the Water Resources Department (WRD) with participation from corporate entities contributing through social initiatives, non-governmental organisations and citizen volunteers.

The maintenance programme will cover major water bodies and drainage channels, including the Cooum, Adyar and Kosasthalaiyar rivers, Buckingham Canal, Okkiyam Maduvu drains, and estuaries at Adyar, Cooum and Muttukadu. Several major lakes in Velachery, Puzhal, Narayanapuram, Adambakkam and Kovilambakkam have also been earmarked for maintenance.

On Monday, Minister Anand will inspect the Cooum river stretch near Koyambedu and the Okkiyam Maduvu drain in Okkiyam Thoraipakkam. The second day's inspections will cover the Adyar river near Manapakkam and the South Buckingham Canal near the Sholinganallur Akkarai bridge.

The three-day drive will conclude on Wednesday with a review of desilting operations at the Velachery and Narayanapuram lakes.

Members of the Legislative Assembly, senior WRD officials, departmental engineers, corporate representatives, NGO members and the public are expected to participate in the programme.