North East Monsoon: Inundated Chennai braces for Day 2

CHENNAI: Following the overnight downpour in Chennai, many parts of the city including Perambur, Pattalam, Tondiarpet, Kolathur, Perambur, Korattur, Madipakkam, Vyasarpadi, Porur, and Velachery was inundated on Tuesday.

Though storm water drains (SWDs) were constructed, lack of interlinking the SWDs, and development works by Metro Water and Tangedco led to waterlogging in many areas. The civic body workers could not pump out the stagnated rainwater due to widespread rainfall.

Incomplete infra works

Many arterial roads are a mess because of developmental works, where the left-over debris makes the roads slippery and dangerous for pedestrians and motorists.

“It has been a year since these projects began in Kolathur. The pace of work is very slow,” rued K Suresh, a resident of Sathya Nagar, in Kolathur. “Accidents are common on Kadappa Road. When it rains, the road is not motorable. Unless there is a major incident, nobody is going to listen to us.”

Residents of Mullai Nagar in Anna Nagar, Tirumangalam Road in Villivakkam, and Lakshmi Nagar and Kuberan Nagar in Madipakkam flagged the perennial problem of potholes and said that the lack of adequate infrastructure has added to their problems.

P Krishnakanth, resident of Lakshmi Nagar First Street in Madipakkam, highlighted the need for re-laying the roads as it has remained in a “pathetic condition in the locality and poses a threat to motorists during the monsoon”.

A resident of Perambur, Jagadeesan R, stated, “Parts of GKM Colony remain in a bad shape. The dug-up roads have so many potholes. It’s a safety risk, as motorists cannot see them when there’s water-logging. These lead to accidents and even vehicles get caught in such places. When we spot such places, we place wooden planks to mark them when it’s flooded.”

Roads dug to lay natural gas pipelines in Ambattur and Madhavaram are also not repaired or re-laid properly. The Chettiyar Agaram First Main Road has not been re-laid after the Metro Water board carried out the underground pipeline works. The busy arterial roads of Anna Nagar and Mogappair also have such dangerous stretches which led to minor accidents on Tuesday.

Fallen trees, live wires

Fallen trees too, added to the woes of the public in many areas including T Nagar, Pulianthope, Anna Nagar and Triplicane. However, the Corporation workers removed them with the support of the city police.

An underground live wire cable on Natesan Street in T Nagar snapped, creating panic among the residents but no incident of electrocution was reported. In a similar case, an EB box caught fire in West Mambalam and any major accident was averted as EB officials rectified the issue immediately.

With many interior roads flooding within a few hours of rainfall, denizens accused the Greater Chennai Corporation of lack of preparation to manage intense monsoon spells.

Inundated north Chennai

In north Chennai, Perambur and Kolathur stations received the highest amount of rainfall – 165.3 mm and 158.1 mm respectively – within a short span of time. In both areas, there was hip-level water which entered houses and shops.

During Cyclone Michaung last December, these areas were inundated for over a week, as the Corporation had failed to interlink the SWDs. This year too, residents lament over their struggle due to the Corporation’s inefficiency.

“The Corporation constructed a SWD for 24 km but it was not interlinked to the nearby channels for smooth overflow. This led to water-logging,” opined Rama Boopathy, a resident at Pattalam. “Though the civic body installed motor pumps recently, due to intense rainfall, the pumps did not work. Water level surged and soon, there was hip-level water. A manhole was opened when the pump did not work, but since it was unmarked, a few people were injured while trying to fix the pumps.”

Reverse flow from SWD

The excess rainwater on Perambur Barracks Road and flowed through the existing SWD until Tuesday morning. However, within a few hours, the SWD clogged with silt and waste, which reversed the flow and flooded the area.

Since the civic body failed to desilt majority of the SWDs and the silt catch-pits, rainwater entered homes and apartments on the ground floor at several streets in Perambur.

“Just the first spell of monsoon season, and it has already flooded the house. We tried to reach the authorities, but there has been no response as usual. Motor pumps are not functional. If the local body has desilted the SWD in the locality, it would have prevented such situations now. We’re worried about the next two days as a red alert is issued, and even when there is intense rain influenced by cyclones till December,” averred a resident of Venkataraman street, Perambur.

Rainwater mix with sewage

In many interior streets of Tondiarpet and Old Washermenpet, rainwater mixed with sewage that overflowed from the manhole in the locality.

The nearby pumping stations were not functional and no motor pumps were installed in the residential streets. And, there are no new SWDs in the area. “Authorities are aware of the situation, but nothing has been done,” fumed R Boopalan, a resident of Semmiyamman Koil Street, Tondiarpet.

Though the Corporation constructed a SWD at Prakasam Road in Broadway, there was flooding along the bus route road, which blocked traffic. Additionally, inundation in Velachery, Sholinganallur and Purasawalkam, and the incomplete SWD works and CMRL constructions led to a traffic gridlock.

Out of the 22 subways in the city, 8 subways including Perambur High Road subway, Ganeshapuram subway, Madley subway and Stanley Nagar subway were closed for hours due to water stagnation.