Kanchipuram district’s monsoon preparedness came under pressure at a review meeting after elected representatives flagged incomplete canal desilting, delayed flood-mitigation work and inadequate vehicles for emergency response in flood-prone areas. The concerns were raised at a district coordination committee meeting chaired by Collector D. Sneha ahead of the northeast monsoon.
Minister for non-resident Tamils welfare and Sriperumbudur MLA K. Thennarasu said several canals in and around Varadharajapuram and Ashtalakshmi Nagar in Kundrathur union remained uncleared despite the areas facing flooding every monsoon. He said he had inspected the locations over the previous two days and urged officials to complete the remaining desilting work immediately.
Thennarasu said the Adyar canal had been desilted properly, but other canals had not received the same level of attention. Residents in the affected areas had repeatedly approached him with complaints, he said, adding that preventive works should be completed before heavy rain creates hardship for households.
Alandur MLA Harish also questioned the delay in allocating vehicles for monsoon preparedness in his constituency. According to the report, he had requested at least two vehicles for relief and preventive work but was informed that only one was available. He said Alandur was a large and important constituency and asked officials to address the shortfall before the onset of intense rainfall.
The meeting was attended by Kanchipuram Mayor Mahalakshmi Yuvaraj, Additional Collector Ashiq Ali and senior officials from several departments. Following the criticism, Collector Sneha asked officials to explain the progress of ongoing works and provide completion timelines.
Officials told the meeting that waterbody restoration work was under way at eight locations in Kanchipuram, six in Sriperumbudur and two in Uthiramerur. Desilting of the Manimangalam canal was also in progress, with officials stating that the work was expected to be completed within a week.
The meeting placed the district’s preparedness efforts against a familiar operational challenge: preventive infrastructure must be completed before rainfall overwhelms drainage channels, while vehicles and response equipment must be available to move personnel and relief supplies. The authorities’ immediate task, as recorded at the meeting, is to complete the pending canal and waterbody works and clarify the deployment of vehicles for flood response.
