Even as Chennaiites heave a sigh of relief after the recent showers, their travel travails have only become worse. For, the rain has made city roads unmotorable with crumbling surfaces and immense potholes, not to mention the water-logging with every spell.
Several stretches of road at Porur, Tiruvottiyur and Tambaram, and parts of Vadapalani, went from bad to worse after the rain. The roads, already riddled with potholes, turned into mushy lakes. “One cannot think of using these roads after the rains at all! They are completely waterlogged and so slushy,” lamented Palani, a resident of Porur.
But it was not just the outskirts. The incessant rain that began in the wee hours of Tuesday last week didn’t leave the inner-city untouched. Travelling on arterial roads in Nungambakkam, Chetpet, Avadi and Ambattur turned nightmarish for road users.
And in roads where the Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) work is going on, the rain just brought more misery. Huge stretches of Poonamallee High Road, especially stretches between Arumbakkam and Aminjikkarai, were waterlogged. N Shanmugam, a resident of Arumbakkam says, “We are pushed to walk nearly half a kilometre through the stagnant water because of the poor roads.
On Thursday (August 15), the city witnessed more heavy rainfall, bringing trouble to motorists in Valasaravakkam, Virugambakkam and Tondiarpet, and North and Southern suburbs of the city. If the arterial stretches in these areas were affected, all credits go to the continuous showers.
“Heavy rainfall of about 6 cm was recorded in Nungambakkam on that particular day alone due to the upper air circulation” said an official from the meteorological department.
Following that, most parts of Valluvar Kottam were inundated. Parts of Kilpauk, Velachery and Adyar also witnessed heavy waterlogging, and as a result, severe traffic congestion.
With the rains giving the city a feeble respite for the past couple of days, officials from the Meteorological Department said that the city will not be receiving any heavy showers, barring a drizzle or two overnight. In what may come as a sigh of relief to the residents, the city’s corporation officials have also confirmed that have been taking sufficient measures to make sure damage from the approaching North-East monsoon is minimal.
“Departments such as storm water drainage, public works, electricity board, metro water and sewage board, highways and rural works have all been alerted to take the necessary steps to ensure a safe monsoon,” said an official from the civic body who wished to remain unnamed.