The Chennai Corporation has set new deadlines for the completion of
work on the extension of the north and south parts of the Buckingham
Canal. During the Corporation Council Meet held recently, it was
informed that the the work on the canal, which was supposed to be
extended by 350 metres on both parts, had not been completed yet, and
would be completed within March next year.

Replying to a letter of
request submitted by councillor of Ward 38, Santhanam, the Council on
Friday passed two resolutions, fixing the new deadlines for completion
of the work. It was informed that the extension project faced several
hurdles and this had caused the delay in the work to stagnate. Problems
such as presence of Metro Water pipelines, EB lines and roads in the
proposed extension routes hampered the process. There was also
restriction laid down by the traffic police, who allowed the work to be
done only during the night. 

It was further informed that while
250 metres of the proposed 350 metres extension had been completed in
the southern part of the canal, work on the remaining 100 metres could
not be completed because of the presence of high tension cables in the
area. Hence, an extended deadline of March 31, 2014 has been given for
work on the south end. However, the new deadline for the work on the
northern parts of the canal have been set for December 31, 2013.