Is there a possibility of restoring the Buckingham Canal, especially within the city where the encroachments, including the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), have very nearly killed it? As the government makes another attempt at reviving the canal that snakes through the city’s eastern coast, concerns over resettlement could become a talking point because the slum dwellers demand in situ or proximate resettlement and reside at a high-profile constituency represented by Udhayanidhi Stalin, the Chief Minister’s son.
Among the government’s long list of attempts is the latest project by the Water Resources Department (WRD) to restore the canal on a 2.9-km stretch, between Swami Sivananda Salai and Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, as a pilot project. It has come after three years of different proposals for eco-restoration of the canal through the Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust.
According to the policy note of the WRD for 2023-24, administrative sanction has been accorded for the “comprehensive restoration and rejuvenation” of the “Buckingham Canal and its associated drains and major drains flowing into the Adyar and Cooum rivers” at a cost of ₹1,281 crore. The pilot project is aimed at turning the waterway into a recreational navigation channel, with sustainable flood management, ecological restoration and waterfront development thrown in, according to officials.
