Stalin is directly monitoring flood situation in Chennai: Ramachandran

CHENNAI: State minister for Revenue and Disaster Management KKSSR Ramachandran on Monday said that water did not stagnate in Chennai this year due to Chief Minister MK Stalin directly monitoring the flood situation in Chennai.

"It is only because of the Chief Minister's direction to monitor the flood situation in Chennai, the rescue and relief works are undertaken rapidly. Even during his inspection on Sunday, the Chief Minister said that the flood mitigation works are undertaken in water stagnating areas. We cannot say that 100 per cent work has been completed and there is no water stagnation in the city,” said Ramachandran, while addressing the media, in Ezhilagam.

The Minister also said that from October 1, this year, to Monday, the State received a total of 310 mm of rainfall which is 16 percent higher than the average rainfall. As the meteorological department has warned that a fresh spell of rainfall is set to commence in another four days, Ramachandran said that the state government "will handle the coming rains more efficiently."

So far, 35 persons have died from October 1 and in the latest spell of rainfall, over two days, two persons have died.

The State government has opened 99 rescue and relief camps across the State to accommodate 52,751 persons and out of the total, 80 are in Mayiladuthurai district. Only one centre is functional in Chennai in which 46 persons are made to stay.

Reacting to former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami who inspected Mugilivakkam where there were complaints of water stagnation. MSME Minister T M Anbarasan blamed Palaniswami for water stagnation in Kelambakkam. "When I was elected as MLA in 2016, I raised the issue of water stagnation in the state Assembly on four occasions but there was no action. Palaniswami who was in-charge of PWD in the former regime did not take any action in constructing culverts in the area to make exit routes for stagnated water. When there was water stagnation last year we took the Chief Minister to the spot and he allotted Rs 120 crore to undertake flood mitigation works in the area. I was there in the area for the last three days and Palaniswami who visited the area on Monday is doing nothing other than politics,” said Anbarasan.