Chennai’s hyacinth-choked Vyasarpadi canal raises flood fears

Residents of Shastri Nagar in Vyasarpadi are worried that a spell of heavy rain could flood their homes, with a canal along Shastri Nagar First Street severely clogged by water hyacinth and garbage.

A large stretch of the Vyasarpadi canal is covered with dense water hyacinth, leaving little room for water to flow. Stagnant water beneath the thick layer of vegetation has also become a source of foul odour and a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects.

Residents said the weed had been spreading unchecked for nearly five months and that the problem had worsened with the accumulation of waste along the canal.

With Chennai experiencing intermittent rain, residents fear that a heavy spell could overwhelm the already restricted waterway, causing the canal to overflow and inundate nearby streets and houses.

The situation has been further aggravated by ongoing bridge construction on Anna Salai in Shastri Nagar. Residents said portions of the water channel near the construction site had been obstructed, slowing the movement of water and resulting in rainwater stagnating along First Street and adjoining residential areas.

“Water hyacinth has been growing here for the past five months. Some people also dump garbage near the canal at night. This further obstructs the flow of water. Foul odour and mosquito menace are an everyday nuisance,” a resident said.

Another resident, Nagamani, said the bridge construction had blocked the waterway at certain points, worsening water stagnation in the residential stretches.

He urged the authorities to complete the bridge work at the earliest and make temporary arrangements to ensure that the canal remains unobstructed until construction is completed.

Residents said the problem was not merely one of flooding. Prolonged water stagnation, they warned, could create favourable conditions for mosquito breeding and increase the risk of vector-borne diseases.

They have urged the Greater Chennai Corporation to remove the water hyacinth and accumulated garbage immediately and restore the canal’s carrying capacity before the city receives another spell of intense rainfall.

A senior Corporation official said work on one side of the bridge on Anna Salai had been completed, while construction on the other side was progressing.

The civic body has also requested a robotic excavator to remove the dense vegetation from the canal. The official said the hyacinth-clearing operation would begin once the equipment reaches the locality.

Residents, however, want the clearance work to be carried out without delay, saying that restoring the canal’s flow before heavy rain is critical to preventing flooding and the public-health problems associated with stagnant water.

With IANS inputs