Restoration work, estimated to cost ₹250 crore, will commence soon in the southern districts that have been severely affected by the unprecedented torrential rain, Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan said in the Assembly on Thursday.
Responding to concerns raised by Nainar Nagenthran of the BJP, the Minister said a total of 480 projects had been identified. Mr. Nagenthran said plastic debris and discarded clothes, among others, were found in the Tamirabarani after the rain and floods.
The BJP legislator urged the government to remove silt from waterbodies to increase their capacity and remove encroachments on the banks of the Tamirabarani.
Flagging the issues faced by passengers at the Kilambakkam bus terminus, Mr. Nagenthran said that in a few more years, a situation might arise, forcing the bus terminus to shift to Chengalpattu. So it would be ideal to move the State capital from Chennai to Tiruchi, he said.
Mr. Duraimurugan said in a lighter vein that there was no space for a bus terminus in Tiruchi city and a demand would eventually be made to move the capital to Pudukkottai. Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar asked whether Mr. Nagenthran would demand moving the national capital from New Delhi to somewhere closer to the south.
