Buckingham Canal
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12°59′06″N 80°15′10″E / 12.98490°N 80.25270°E
The Buckingham Canal is a 796 kilometres (494.6 mi)-long
The canal was constructed during
In the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party's 2021 election manifesto, the party promised that the canal will be rehabilitated.[1]
Construction
The first segment of the canal was a saltwater navigation canal, constructed in 1806[2] from Madras to Ennore for a distance of 18 km (11 mi). It was initially called Cochrane's Canal, after its principal financier Basil Cochrane.[3] Subsequently, it was extended north to Pulicat Lake, 40 km (25 mi) north of Chennai. The canal was taken over by the government of Madras Presidency in 1837 and further extended, ultimately reaching 315 km (196 mi) north of Chennai to Gudivada Kalava on the banks of the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh, and 103 km (64 mi) south of Chennai to Marakkanam in Tamil Nadu. It was briefly renamed Lord Clive's Canal.[3] However, the section in Chennai was known as Cochrane's Canal for much of the 19th century.[4]
During 1877 and 1878, the people of Chennai suffered from the terrible
The canal lost its importance for many years as a result of the competition of the railways, and regained its importance after the Second World War.
Course of the canal
The canal runs approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) back from the coastline. It joins up a series of natural backwaters, and fed by tidal waters from the sea through rivers and creeks. The Cooum River connects the canal to the Bay of Bengal in the center of Chennai. The portion north of the Cooum is known as the North Buckingham Canal, and the portion south of the Cooum as the South Buckingham Canal. 257 km (160 mi) of the canal is in Andhra Pradesh, and 163 km (101 mi) is in Tamil Nadu. Approximately 31 km (19 mi) is within the city limits of Chennai. In Andhra Pradesh it joins the Cammamar Canal at the
Stretch | Original (survey) width (m) | Existing width (m) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
Adyar River–Greenways Road | 107 | 116 | 25 | 31 |
Greenways Road–Kamaraj Salai | 115 | 123 | 25 | 33 |
Kamaraj Salai–Venkatakrishna Road | 98 | 123 | 33 | 48 |
Venkatakrishna Road–St. Mary's Road | 122 | 123 | 37 | 38 |
St. Mary's Road–Agraharam Road | 133 | 143 | 28 | 38 |
Agraharam Road–Kutchery Road | 113 | 117 | 33 | 37 |
Kutchery Road–P.V.Koil Street | 114 | 134 | 34 | 39 |
P.V.Koil Street–Radhakrishna Street | 117 | 133 | 25 | 38 |
Radhakrishna Street–Avvai Shanmugam Salai | 120 | 122 | 30 | 32 |
Avvai Shanmugam Salai–Besant Road | 100 | 109 | 25 | 34 |
Besant Road–Barathi Salai | 89 | 110 | 24 | 25 |
Barathi Salai–Wallaja Road | 80 | 111 | 30 | 36 |
Wallaja Road–Swami Sivanandha Salai | 42 | 73 | 32 | 36 |
Swami Sivanandha Salai–Cooum River | 80 | 93 | 25 | 28 |
Decline in usage
The canal was used to convey goods up and down the coast from
Within the city limits of Chennai much of the canal has been used as the route of the elevated Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS). MRTS stations such as Kotturpuram, Kasturba Nagar and Indira Nagar have encroached on the canal and narrowed the width of the canal to less than 50 meters in a few places.[8]
Buckingham Canal is the most polluted of the three major waterways in the city with nearly 60 per cent of the estimated 55 million litres of untreated sewage being let into it daily, including by Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board.[9]
Effect of the 2004 tsunami
Dr. B. Ramalingeswara Rao first identified the buffer zone action of the Buckingham Canal when he visited the coastal areas of 300 kilometres (186.4 mi). He recommended to the Government to renovate it to mitigate tsunami hazards in the future. Further, he reported in 2005, during the
Dr. B. R. Rao further stressed on the extension of the Buckingham Canal up to Vedaranyam in order to protect the Tamil Nadu coast from the fury of tsunamis in future. The maximum magnitude MW 8.5 may occur in future in Sumatra because of its continuous subduction activity.
Cause of 2015 floods
Buckingham canal drains water from south Chennai. A 2014 CAG report revealed that a diversion channel from Buckingham canal near Okkiyum Maduvu to the sea (drain project under JNNURM scheme) could have saved south Chennai from flooding. But the government dropped the 100 crore JNNURM scheme, which if completed, would have drained flood water at 3,500 cubic feet per second from southern neighborhoods. The 2014 CAG report said defective planning of flood control projects caused delay and increased cost, defeating the objective of the scheme. "The fact is that alleviation of inundation of flood water in Chennai city remains largely un-achieved," it said.[10]
Revamp of the canal
Revival of Buckingham Canal took shape by government's
On 22 January 2010, Government of Tamil Nadu has reconstituted the Adayar Poonga Trust as Chennai River Restoration Trust for restoration of Chennai rivers (
In 2011 improvements were being undertaken on the 13 km (8.1 mi) stretch between Okkiyam Madu and Muttukadu under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The canal was being widened to 100 m (330 ft) and a U.S.A.-built
Bridges connecting ECR and OMR
In 2018, the Chennai Corporation proposed to construct six bridges across the canal, linking East Coast Road and Old Mahabalipuram Road, along a length of 4.5 kilometers of the canal. They include Venkatesapuram–Elango Nagar (costing ₹ 46.3 million), Venkatesapuram–Gandhi Road (costing ₹ 46.2 million), Kamarajar Salai–Veeramani Salai (costing ₹ 60 million), Maniammai Street–Dr. Ambedkar Salai (costing ₹ 96.6 million), Pandian Street–Anna Nagar (costing ₹ 62.1 million), and Gandhi Nagar–Pandian Nagar (costing ₹ 52.9 million).[14]
See also
- Adyar river
- Cooum river
- Indian Rivers Inter-link
- Kosasthalaiyar river
- Water management in Chennai
References
- ^ DMK manifesto 2021
- JSTOR 4314123.
- ^ a b c "An ambitious plan to revive the Buckingham Canal". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ Darvill, Simon (December 2011). "India's First Railways". Indian Railways Fan Club. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/5047/1/ec_1_61_1957.pdf page 22
- ^ https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/5047/1/ec_1_61_1957.pdf page 20
- ^ https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/5047/1/ec_1_61_1957.pdf page 21
- ^ Encroachment of MRTS stations on the Canal[permanent dead link]
- ^ Lakshmi, K.; Deepa H Ramakrishnan (29 September 2011). "Untreated sewage pollutes waterways". The Hindu. Chennai: The Hindu. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "Flood: Chennai corpn learned little from CAG advice - Times of India". indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ The Hindu (25 July 2010) (25 July 2010). "South Buckingham Canal widening". Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Public Works Department, Government of Tamil Nadu. "Policy Note (2010-2011), Public Works Department of Tamilnadu" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ K. Lakshmi (25 January 2011), "Imported machinery deployed to desilt South Buckingham canal", The Hindu, Chennai: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, archived from the original on 30 January 2011, retrieved 26 January 2011
- ^ Lopez, Aloysius Xavier (20 October 2018). "Six bridges to link ECR, OMR". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- "Buckingham canal buffered tsunami fury". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 11 August 2005. Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2006.
- "The desecrated link". The Hindu Sep 23, 2002. Hindu Group. Archived from the original on 7 May 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2006.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
B. Ramalingeswara Rao (2005). buckingham Canal saved people in Andhra Pradesh (India) from the tsunami of 26 December 2004. current Science vol. 89, 12–13.