CHENNAI: Inundation at information technology firms has prevented IT professionals from logging in again in the city as most of them have been asked to relocate immediately.
Most of the employees working in DLF and Old Mahabalipuram Road were in for a surprise when the IT firms for whom they were working stonewalled them at the entrance. “I just returned to work after a week. They refused to let us in. We are waiting for further instructions,” said the mother of a two-year-old child.
The road opposite to DLF was packed with motor bikes of employees both men and women as traffic police was struggling to keep the traffic flowing. “The three basements are full of water. The power infrastructure has been affected. As such the entire DLF, which houses Cognizant, Sutherland, L&T Infotech, IBM and many high-profile IT companies is shut,” said a manager of the company.
The biggest issue being faced by more than 10,000 employees working in DLF, which has about 160 firms, is that many of them have been asked to relocate to other centres. “They have asked me to go to Pune,” said an L&T Infotech employee. “I have children. They have agreed to look into my case,” she said. But, other employees are not too happy with being relocated. Cognizant employees said some have been asked to go to Sholinganallur. “It is quite far away. We are not happy with this relocation but don’t have any choice,” he said. “We are more than 1,000 employees and the issue would be having access to a system,” said another employee of Cognizant.
Similarly, Sutherland is relocating its employees to Hyderabad and Kochi. “We had offices in OMR, DLF and Velachery. Two of our offices in OMR and DLF are closed and employees have been asked to go to Hyderabad and Kochi,” said a girl.
But, most of the employees feel that their employers should have taken measures to clear the water from the basement. Many bikes of the IT employees are inundated so too their cars. “I don’t know what will happen to them. They should never have built a complex in this area,” said a manager.