Mudichur learnt no lessons from 2015 floods

Tamil Nadu Disaster Response Force (TNDRF) teams arrived at Mudichur and Varadarajapuram on Monday and began rescue operations. Due to the lack of boats, they had to use tyres and chairs to rescue people. Residents have started to shift their valuables from the ground floor to the first floor, while some of them have already vacated their houses. Mudichur and Varadarajapuram were two of the areas which were badly affected during the 2015 floods. Residents complained that the civic body has not taken enough developmental projects after the 2015 floods and their area gets flooded even after a small rain.

Sources said that Manimangalam lake was filled to the brim after the rain and now it is overflowing into the streets and houses. “Excess water from the lake was supposed to reach the Adyar canal but since the canal was not maintained and cleaned properly, the water is entering households,” said a resident on the condition of anonymity. The situation in Royappa Nagar is much worse as most of the areas are flooded. St Thomas Street in Mudichur is fully under the water as there is no stormwater drain or any space for the water to flow. Residents complain that they have asked the panchayat to construct stormwater drains but no steps are being taken yet. Even Mahalakshmi Nagar in Chengalpattu was badly flooded and residents claimed that the situation was the same as in 2015 as no steps were taken to stop flooding. “The government should take actions to remove the encroachments,” said Benjamin, another resident. Chengalpattu Collector visited the spot and ordered speeding up of the rescue operations.