Chennai witnessed some respite as rain stopped but is struggling to cope with water logging, power cuts and disruption in mobile networks.
Published Dec 06, 2023 | 2:38 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 06, 2023 | 2:38 PM
Policemen riding a tractor to wade through the flooded roads in Chennai. (Supplied)
Residents continued to grappled with stagnant water and power disruption in parts of Tamil Nadu’s capital Chennai and its suburbs on Wednesday, 6 December, a full two days after Cyclone Michuang wreaked havoc in the metropolis and neighbouring districts.
However, the civic agency personnel stepped up relief and rehabilitation efforts.
The cyclone-triggered heavy rainfall had led to inundation in localities including Velachery and Tambaram. On Wednesday, too, people were seen leaving their homes in the areas surrounded with water to safer zones, carrying their children and wading through stagnant water.
They called for help, including pressing more boats to ferry people to higher ground.
Chennai has witnessed some respite as the rain stopped pelting down on Tuesday, but the city is struggling to cope with large-scale water logging, power cuts, and disruption in mobile networks — the last two being attributed in part to fallen trees and snapped wires.
The government said power was kept suspended in some areas as a “preventive measure” since the power cables were under water, while asserting all efforts were being taken to restore normalcy.
Another day’s holiday was declared for schools and colleges in Chennai on 7 December.
Chief Minister MK Stalin visited some of the affected areas and distributed food and essential commodities to people put up at a relief centre in the city. He inspected activities undertaken by the city civic body to drain water.
He also wrote to the Union minister seeking an interim flood relief of ₹5,060 crore to tide over the immediate crisis.
Many users on the social media site ‘X’ shared videos of residential localities still surrounded by stagnant water, claiming many residents were stuck inside.
The hashtag #Velachery was trending on the microblogging site.
A user lamented that her relatives were stuck in their home for the last three days without power, drinking water and milk.
There were complaints of delay in supply of milk in many affected parts including Velachery and Tambaram and residents alleged it was being sold for extra price.
Power supply had not resumed in parts of the city including Kilpauk and Kattupakkam.
Hi ,
From @#velacherry VGP selva nagar, No power,Network for the past two days. situation is getting worse. No source for food and drinking water .Unable to contact #helpline numbers.Lots of families are stuck because of water stagnation.Hope expecting the support from TN govt. pic.twitter.com/mvhgt7Hn7X— Nirmal kumar (@nirmalk74113700) December 5, 2023
The state government said relief activities were in full swing and that people in many of the affected areas were being rescued through inflatable boats even at midnight.
Senior officials of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) were overseeing the rescue and relief activities, the civic agency said.
The Greater Chennai Police also announced helpline numbers for citizens to contact them for rescue and relief activities.
Further, 11 subways in the metro remained closed for vehicular movement due to water-logging.
There were no disruptions in operations at the airport, while the Southern Railway
announced cancelling several services and the diversion of many others.
However, Southern Railway announced the resumption of suburban services on the Chennai Egmore-Chengalpet and Chennai Beach-Arakkonam routes with a frequency of 30 and 45 minutes, respectively. Services on the Tiruvottiyur-Sullurpeta line will be operated on an hourly frequency, it said in an update.
An update from the city police on Wednesday said six rain-related deaths were reported while many persons in need were rescued by the cops in different parts of the city. Among the rescued were senior citizens, pregnant women, and a woman and her newborn, an official release said.
A dozen people lost their lives in various rain-related incidents in and around the city on Tuesday while personnel on fishing boats and farm tractors were engaged in rescuing stranded people.
Meanwhile, 11 others, who sustained injuries in rain-related incidents, were receiving treatment in various hospitals, officials said.
Among the 12 people who lost their lives in rain-related incidents were a 60-year-old woman in Foreshore Estate and a 48-year-old man who worked as a head constable at the Integral Coach Factory police station, according to an official release.
There was respite from rains in most parts of Chennai since Tuesday morning giving time to officials to focus on rescue and relief efforts in rain-affected areas.
Senior India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin highlighted the challenging conditions people of Chennai are braving due to Cyclone Michaung, revealing that his own locality was dealing with a power outage that extended over 30 hours.
“No power in my locality for more than 30 hours too. Guess that’s the case in many places. Not Sure what options we have #ChennaiFloods,” Ashwin posted on X on Tuesday.
Ashwin, who is a resident of Chennai, has been posting and sharing several video clips of the water logged city on ‘X’.
No power in my locality for
more than 30 hours too. Guess thats the case in many places.Not Sure what options we have 🙏#ChennaiFloods https://t.co/gWArpwH3KI
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) December 5, 2023
Earlier, residents of Varadharajapuram, a suburb merely 15 km from Tambaram in South Chennai, said that the locality was currently in the grip of a severe crisis. Floodwaters have left at least 2,000 families stranded for the past two days.
At least 2,000 families at Varadharajapuram are still stranded, waiting for rescue teams for the past two days. Living in darkness without power, they are so annoyed with the government that they do not want to complain either.
“What’s the point of talking to the media when we know nothing will change?” Indira K, a resident of PTC Colony, Varadharajapuram, told South First.
Six families from Varadharajapuram told South First that they have not received relief measures from the state government.
MLA Selvaperunthagai said that the state government has rescued 450 of the 2,000 stranded families using boats as the locality is inaccessible.
“While a few of them chose to go to their relatives’ homes, few families have been sheltered at a school here,” Selva Perunthagai told South First.
Listing out three reasons that resulted in neck-deep water at Varadharajapuram, the MLA said: “As water from Chembarambakkam lake has been released, the water levels at Varadharajapuram have increased. Orathur lake has been breached. While the project to strengthen the bund had been taken up by the previous AIADMK government, it was left incomplete.”
“The intense rainfall of about 40 cm resulted in inundation,” he said, adding that water from the locality is being now pumped out using motors.
(With PTI inputs)
