Decline in Usage
The canal was formerly used to convey goods up and down the coast from Vijayawada to Madras (now Chennai). The cyclones of 1965/1966 and 1976 damaged the canal, and it is presently little used and no longer well maintained. Within the city of Chennai the canal is badly polluted from sewage and industrial effluents, and the silting up of the canal has left the water stagnant, creating an attractive habitat for malaria-spreading mosquitoes. The North Chennai Thermal Power Station (NCTP) discharges hot water and fly ash into the canal as well. In agricultural areas South of Chennai the former tow path along the scenic areas is still used for light motorcycle and bicycle traffic. On January 1, 2001 the Government of India launched a project to prevent sewage outfalls into the canal and Chennai's other waterways, and to dredge the canal to remove accumulated sediment and improve water flow.
Within the city limits of Chennai much of the canal has been used as the route of the elevated Mass Rapid Transport 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 few places.
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.
Read more about this topic: Buckingham Canal
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