The relentless noise from the manufacturing units of Ambattur Industrial Estate has not been heard for the past one week as operations have come to a halt.
Heavy rain and lack of a proper drainage network has led to the flooding of most industrial units in the north and south-west phases of Ambattur Industrial Estate. The flooding of the estate, one of the biggest manufacturing hubs in the State, has resulted in industry owners suffering huge losses.
The owner of a factory manufacturing leather cutting machines said the root cause of the flooding was the overflowing water from the Ambattur Lake. He said: “Workers have stopped coming to the factories because the machines are submerged. Many snakes have entered the units. The expensive machines have been damaged and it is doubtful if we will be compensated for the loss.”
Factory owners in the north phase also complained the lack of desilting and deepening of the canal by the Public Works Department (PWD). While the factories located in the south phase have escaped from flooding as a stormwater drain has been built, the lack of a proper concrete canal parallel to the railway lines between Ambattur and Korattur has inundated the factories.
V. Raju, president, Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers’ Association, in a representation made to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, has demanded a concrete channel to drain surplus water from Ambattur Lake to Korattur Lake. He also cited a study by an Anna University team two years ago about preventing flooding in the estate. The study had recommended the creation of a new channel from Ambattur Lake to Maduravoyal. The proposal is pending with the government, he said. A PWD official said the reason for not constructing a concrete canal along the railway track was that the Southern Railway is planning to widen the tracks soon.
