Chennai’s monsoon preparedness has been strengthened with the Greater Chennai Corporation mobilising 15,000 personnel and deploying around 600 pump sets ahead of the Northeast monsoon, civic commissioner GS Sameeran said on Monday. The Corporation has also pre-positioned additional vehicles, including JCBs, near areas expected to require rapid response during extreme weather.
Sameeran said the pump fleet includes around 500 mid-level pumps and 150 high-horsepower pumps of different capacities. The equipment has been placed in readiness along with other materials and vehicles so that teams can respond to waterlogging and related disruptions without waiting for resources to be moved after heavy rain begins.
The commissioner linked the preparedness measures to forecasts of unpredictable weather conditions during this year’s Northeast monsoon. He referred to what he described as a “Super El Niño” and said the Corporation was preparing for a worst-case scenario while hoping for the best. The remarks were reported by DT Next and attributed to Sameeran.
The 15,000-member workforce will work through the night when required and includes sanitary workers, according to the commissioner. The Corporation said most personnel and materials had been pre-positioned by the 10th of the month, ahead of a weather event on the 17th. Sameeran said the early deployment had helped the civic body respond more effectively.
The preparedness plan is focused on keeping infrastructure, personnel and material ready for mitigation if Chennai experiences an extreme weather event. The city’s response will involve operations at vulnerable locations, including subways and roads prone to waterlogging, as well as the use of pump sets and earthmoving equipment to clear accumulated water and support access.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay visited the Greater Chennai Corporation headquarters on Sunday to review the city’s Northeast monsoon preparedness and rain-related situation. During the visit, he monitored live CCTV feeds and reviewed conditions from the Corporation’s Integrated Command and Control Centre, also referred to as the control room or war room.
The review covered precautionary measures, waterlogging management and monitoring of vulnerable areas across Chennai. Sameeran said the Chief Minister had instructed officials to focus on mitigation in the event of extreme weather. The Corporation’s next operational steps will involve maintaining the pre-positioned workforce, pumps and vehicles in readiness as the Northeast monsoon progresses.
