Chennai: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will restore two key waterways—the MGR canal and the Jafferkhanpet Canal—in Kodambakkam zone ahead of monsoon to mitigate flooding in key neighbourhoods.GCC commissioner Dr G S Sameeran on Thursday inspected the two canals in wards 138 and 139, and also the confluence points of the canals, joining the Adyar River.The MGR canal is a crucial flood barrier for Ramapuram, Jafferkhanpet and KK Nagar areas. The 1.7-km canal, which starts at KK Nagar, travelling through MGR Nagar and West Jafferkhanpet, is just a foot wide in most parts due to encroachments.At Ayyavu Street and Bharadhidasan Salai, at least 20 houses are jutting into the canal banks obstructing the flow.The commissioner said these encroachments will be removed, and the banks will be strengthened. “GCC will also raise retaining walls to prevent flooding in residential areas during heavy rain,” he said.During the inspection, Sameeran reviewed desilting work underway in the MGR Canal using robotic excavator machines to remove silt, garbage and water hyacinth. He instructed officials to speed up the work and complete them before the onset of monsoon.At the Adyar Estuary, the commissioner directed officials to ensure that sand mounds do not form at the point where the MGR Canal joins the ocean, so that rainwater can flow freely during monsoon. He asked officials to complete the desilting work before the rains.The commissioner also interacted with residents and urged them not to dump garbage into waterways and canals and instead hand over waste to conservancy workers engaged in daily door-to-door collection.