CHENNAI: Chennai Corporation will soon start work on a storm water drain network in flood-prone parts of Velachery and Taramani, Local Administration Minister M. K. Stalin said on Saturday.

Responding to a request made by Union Minister and South Chennai MP T.R. Baalu and Tambaram MLA S.R. Raja at a function organised by Chennai Corporation, Mr. Stalin said the civic agency prepared estimates for the storm water drain network that would prevent inundation of parts of Taramani and Velachery (divisions 153 and 154). He said the Rs. 3-crore project could be funded partially using the constituency development funds of Mr. Baalu and Mr. Raja.

Both the Union Minister and the MLA said it was a long-pending demand of the residents of Taramani and Velachery to find a solution to inundation during monsoon. Mr. Baalu said the region was acting like a sink where water from other parts city drained. "If the work starts immediately, the region will get at least partial relief this monsoon," he said.

Buildings inaugurated

Mr. Stalin inaugurated two school buildings — a three-storeyed school complex for Corporation Taramani Higher Secondary School at a cost of Rs. 2.4 crore and a three-storeyed school complex for Corporation Thiruvanmiyur Higher Secondary School at a cost of Rs. 92 lakh.

Classrooms

The Local Administration Minister said the performance of Corporation schools improved drastically during his tenure as the City Mayor from 1996 to 2001. He said the focus on providing education on par with private schools would continue. He assured that the Government would provide adequate classrooms and laboratories in all Corporation schools.

Corporation Commissioner M.P. Vijayakumar said the civic agency would add 520 classrooms to schools in the next two years. Laboratories were pending in 34 schools and would also be added.

Deputy Mayor R. Thiagarajan, DMK floor leader in Corporation Council C.V. Malayan, DMK councillors A.K. Jagadessan, P.V. Kalyanasundaram, M. Subramanian, Education Committee chairman S. Narayanan and other senior Corporation officials participated.

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