CHENNAI: A day after this newspaper carried a report about waterlogging in Valsaravakkam, Tiruvallur district administration officials visited the suburban area on Thursday.

Officials from the Collectorate, Metrowater and the Public Works department, regional directors of the municipal administration, Municipal Commissioners, the panchayat president, and councillors reviewed the situation.

Tiruvallur Collector Pankaj Kumar Bansal visited flooded houses. Many areas were under four feet of water. On his instructions, three fire tenders, submersible pumps and diesel-powered pumps were deployed to flush out the water. About two feet of water was pumped out, a senior official said.

But the streets were still inundated as water continued to flow from the Alapakkam lake.

Encroachments

The Collector inspected the lake in Maduravoyal, and was informed that the lakebed had been encroached upon. It is suspected that the encroachers breached the lake bunds to prevent water from entering their homes. The water runs from the lake to the Cooum river via Saligramam, but the breach caused inundation of Maduravoyal and interior Valasaravakkam. At Maduravoyal, two fire engines and eight pumps have been put to work.

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