People give full marks to Police, TNEB’s field work

The Meteorological department had forecast showers for Chennai a couple of days ago, but when the rain opened up, the city clearly was caught napping and was totally unprepared for the devastation that followed. With rail, road and air connectivity cut, Chennai is practically marooned. 

Though the runways were not waterlogged, the airport shut down not wanting to take chances. Train services on the suburban routes were halted at Pallavaram while trains to the districts were cancelled due to tracks being submerged.

What was surprising is that south Chennai has borne the brunt of the floods this time, while North Chennai which usually is the scene of devastation was relatively better off. Prem (58) of Vyasarpadi said water entered his house due to last night’s downpour. 

But the Met department warning of continued rain for more days has vexed locals who now yearn for clear skies to start salvaging their belongings and clean their flooded houses. This is specially true of Tambaram, Mudichur and Padappai, which already were at the receiving end during the rain a week ago. The most affected areas include T-Nagar, St. Thomas mount, Ambattur, Madhavaram and Manapakkam. The police and TNEB came in for praise from locals for their service. Approximately 10 lakhs people were affected by floods. 

A total of 2000 cops with 400 patrol jeeps were pressed into service and were instrumental in rescuing around 50,000 people using 200 boats. In places lilke Egmore and Adyar, senior officers themselves manually pulled out drain covers to get rid of excess water speedily.

TNEB worked round the clock judiciously snapping and restoring power in all areas sometimes working in knee deep water. This follows electrocution deaths in the rain a week ago in the city. In areas like Kodungaiyur, Tiruvanmiyur and Sembiam, TNEB workers attended public complaints

In places like Ekattuthangal, people were seen holding on to the sides of the central median below the flyover to avoid dirty stagnant, water. In Vadapalani, metro buses were stranded in water and at Valasaravakkam, people were marooned in their houses. The GST and Sardar Patel roads were no better. Traffic in inundated areas like General Patters Road was prevented by police to ensure the people’s safety. 

A huge crowd gathered to see water flowing on the Marmalong (Maraimalai Adigal) bridge, connecting Saidapet and Guindy, as the Adyar river was swollen by surplus water released from Chembarabakkam reservoir. The government declared a holiday for educational institutions. With more rains anticipated, public services are gearing up to meet emergencies.