Chennai Metro Phase 2 progress and accessibility promise
The elevated metro line between Porur and Poonamalle as part of Phase 2 will have a total of 453 pillars. Of this, 111 pillars have already been erected as part of the progress on this line. The total cost of the elevated line is estimated to be Rs 1147 crore. The line is set to be open and operational from June 2023.
This line will extend from Lighthouse to Poonamallee and is part of Corridor 3. The total length of all lines in Phase 2 is 118.9 km. The review is on for the project work in Phase 2.
Meanwhile Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has also issued an assurance that all metro stations and rails will be made accessible and inclusive for persons with disabilities within six weeks. The promise came on the heels of a petition filed in the Madras High Court on the accessibility of the metro.
Source: The Times of India | The New Indian Express
Read more: All that’s wrong with stormwater drains in Chennai and how to fix them
Corporation fines contractors for delay
Three contractors have been imposed fines by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) for the delay in carrying out flood mitigation works in the city. The contractors were working along the stretches of Ambedkar College Road, Vembuli Amman Salai and Rangiah Road. They have been penalised Rs 75000, with the quantum set to increase in case of further delays.
The flood mitigation works involve fixing issues with stormwater drains, improving the network and desilting and maintenance of the drains. Various multilateral agencies are involved in providing funding for the augmentation of the city’s stormwater drain network. In addition to this, desilting of canals, flood mitigation in subways and augmentation of electrical motors to pump flood water will also be carried out before the onset of the northeast monsoon.
Source: The Hindu
Chennai corporation shelters face fund shortage
Shelter homes owned by the Greater Chennai Corporation are facing difficulties in operations due to a shortage of funds. NGOs that run the shelters have raised the issue of non-disbursal of funds. The funds have not been distributed for the past six months. This has forced NGOs to resort to donations to keep the shelters functioning.
Central government funding for the shelters running under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) has not been paid. Each shelter is owed around Rs 10 lakhs since late last year. The NGOs are spending out of pocket on staff salaries and meeting the needs of the residents. Contracts of 35 NGOs running shelters have not been renewed to date despite the usual renewals taking place in January each year. The civic body is looking to mobilise funds for shelters from different schemes in the absence of funding under NULM.
Source: The New Indian Express
Read more: In search of a shelter for a mentally ill person on the streets of Chennai
Four more Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in the city
Chennai is set to get four sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the coming months along waterways in the city. One of the plants at Chetpet has been inaugurated while three more are set to come up along Adyar and Cooum rivers. A tertiary treatment plant is also being built at Langs Garden Road. All plants are nearing completion and will be operational shortly.
Two of the STPs will be built at a cost of Rs 4.31 crore near the Adyar in Kotturpuram. They will have a capacity of treating six lakh litres of sewage per day. This will be ready by July. Another STP near the Mambalam canal with the capacity to treat 40 lakh litres of sewage will be inaugurated by September.
Source: The Hindu
[Compiled by Aruna Natarajan]
If you could only write up about the encroachment done by the govt itself on the Poonamalle High road right next to TNPCB office just half a kilometre from DG Vaishnava college by the TNHB itself it will be helpful. They are building huge multistory buildings beginning at the exit of Koyambedu flyover till TNPCB office right on the cooum river flood plains. Only last year all the illegal encroachments were removed so that flood waters can easily flow on the cooum but the govt itself has become the encroacher now. Not only this they have unnecessarily built a storm water drain haphazardly, construction is going on for more than a year and they don’t know how to finish it. Please write about this.