Stalin failed to maintain stormwater drains: Mayor Saidai Duraiswamy

Spearheading a one-way communication during the council meet on Friday, as the DMK and Congress party councillors on the floor were evicted in five minutes, Duraisamy said Stalin turned municipal administration into self administration.

“There is a criticism of the corporation that stormwater drains were not maintained well. But who is the reason for it? It is Stalin, and his disciple M. Subramanian,” he said. “Stalin said he will change Chennai into ‘Singara’ Chennai but his lack of administrative skill is the reason why the city has suffered all these damages,” he added.

Duraisamy singled out the Rs 1,440 crore stormwater drain project executed under JNNURM during M. Subramanian’s tenure. “No consultants were hired and the execution was done without consulting experts from Anna University. These drains are also one of the reasons why flood water stagnated,” he said.

Speaking of Velachery, the locality where the Central Government-appointed team conducted its assessment of flood damage on Thursday, Duraisamy said that by next year, Velachery will no longer be ‘Vella (flood) Cheri’. “When Velachery was under a municipality, the Mayor of Chennai lived there,” Duraisamy said, referring to Stalin’s brief period of residing in the locality.

“He exited there as he knew he would not be able to save the area from flooding. But, I assure the people there that next year, once the PWD project on Taramani Road is finished, there will be no more flooding,” he added. Duraisamy also blamed the ongoing Metro Rail construction for the traffic chaos when it rained heavily.