Berliner Tageblatt - NHAI Starts Removing Temporary Cooum River Bunds Ahead of Northeast Monsoon

CHENNAI — The National Highways Authority of India has started removing temporary earthen work platforms built along the Cooum River for construction of the Chennai Port-Maduravoyal Elevated Corridor as authorities prepare for the Northeast monsoon.

The platforms were installed to support work on the approximately 20-kilometre double-decker elevated corridor. They allow workers and heavy machinery to operate around bridge pillars where the riverbed and banks are too soft for normal construction access.

About 250 temporary structures were erected along the river for the project. NHAI officials have said the bunds will be removed in phases as work around individual locations approaches completion.

The issue was discussed on Saturday during a Northeast monsoon preparedness meeting convened by Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Additional Chief Secretary for Municipal Administration and Water Supply.

At the meeting, NHAI committed to removing the temporary platforms before the first week of October so they do not obstruct the movement of water in the Cooum during the rainy season.

Officials said each bund is roughly 10 metres long and contains an amount of earth equivalent to about four lorry loads. Contractors have been instructed to finish removal before significant monsoon rainfall begins.

The structures remain necessary while construction is active because heavy equipment requires stable access around the corridor's pillars. NHAI is therefore coordinating removal with the progress of work rather than dismantling all platforms simultaneously.

The agency has followed a similar seasonal procedure during the previous two years, removing temporary bunds ahead of the monsoon and rebuilding work access where needed after the high-risk period.

Concerns about the structures have previously been raised by people living along the river, who fear that temporary obstructions could affect water flow during heavy rain.

In 2024, the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal directed the Water Resources Department and NHAI to monitor water movement in the Cooum. The current removal program is intended to keep the channel clear while major construction on the elevated corridor continues.

N.Fournier--BTB