CHENNAI: For the second day, parts of many suburbs were submerged under four-feet water, forcing thousands to evacuate. Worst affected were southern areas, including Tambaram, Perungalathur, Mudichur, and Varadarajapuram.
Helpless and with nowhere to go, hundreds of families left their houses and camped at any place that was safe. Senior citizens struggled a lot to wade through neck-high water in many areas of Mudichur.
Sewage mixed with floodwater entered several houses and marriage halls. Kancheepuram Collector Ponniah and Tambaram Municipality officials visited affected areas but their efforts were not enough to mitigate the residents’ plight. “Even after three days of rain, the marriage halls have not been readied for hosting those seeking relief. Even light showers are leading to waterlogging,’’ said K Chinnaiah of Perungalathur.
The roads leading to Kiskintha and adjacent areas have fully submerged. Anand D of Mudichur is on his way to hometown as the rains have forced him to leave his house and all belongings. "We couldn’t retrieve any of our things as our houses got inundated. Over a thousand people got stranded here and the municipality officers did not make any arrangements for us," he added.
Meanwhile, Chennai city received only light showers on Monday. However, water has not completely drained out of many houses in Korattur and nearby localities. The 26th, 27th and 29th streets of Korattur were the worst affected. Residents say, despite many complaints help did not reach them.
Santhome, Foreshore Estate, Adyar and areas further south were also affected. Following the 2015 floods, Anna University conducted a study and found that the Outer Ring Road (ORR) has been
contributing to the flooding misery in Mudichur area.
The study stressed the need to maintain existing drains and also building more drains across ORR and surrounding areas to ensure the free flow of water. The report had also suggested the construction of a drain along Maduravoyal bypass road’s service road to divert the floodwater into Adyar River.
The study found that the ORR had led to a 20.03 per cent increase in the flooded area.
Corporation helpline not helping matters?
Mohan Raj of Korattur said that the civic body used super sucker machines to drain water out from one road just to spill it over to the next lane. Rain Water Harvesting structures here also have begun to overflow while the Korattur canal has reached its full capacity. Corporation and MetroWater Supply and Sewage Board officials visited the affected areas.
"Since there is an HC stay on the release of sewage water into Korattur lake, we had difficulties in draining water. We are thinking of diverting the water to canals on SIDCO Nagar," said a corporation
official.