CHENNAI: Even as Cyclone Nivar spared the city from severe damages, thousands of families staying in the TN Slum Clearance Board tenements at Perumbakkam and Semmencheri were stuck inside inundated houses for three days, that too without power supply.
In what could be termed as an irony, most of these families had been relocated here from slums across the city on the ground that their earlier settlements were prone to floods.
“Without power there was no way to fill our water tanks. We didn’t have water supply and couldn’t go out because there was knee-deep water everywhere. Also, I spotted some snakes in the water,” said Radhika, a resident.
“After water was drained a bit yesterday, we used the back entrance and went to a mall in Navalur so that my children could use the rest room,” she added.
Without power for three days, mobile phones had run out of power, preventing students from attending online classes.
At the Primary Healthcare Centre in Perumbakkam, nurses and staff were found working with emergency lamps and candles for three nights. Several patients were sent to Medavakkam PHC.
In most houses electricity was restored and water was completely drained only by Saturday morning. However, residents and experts fear that this won’t be the last time these settlements are flooded.
“Perumbakkam and Semmencheri are both extensions of the Pallikaranai marshland. They are at or below the sea level and have a colloidal profile. They are vulnerable (to flooding) by their character,” said Jayshree Vencatesan, ecologist and founder of the Care Earth Trust.
“If the ecological and hydrological characters of the land are not considered before they are identified for relocation, it may become a mistake, although it may not be intentional,” she added.
TC Karuna, a former ward councillor who led the residents’ attempts to drain the water and restore power supply, said there has to be a solution in place to ensure such situations don’t repeat.
“To prevent waterlogging in Kannagi Nagar and Ezhil Nagar, we had a lifting station installed from where we directed water to the Buckingham canal. There has to be a similar solution in place here as well,” he said.
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Perumbakkam now houses around 15,000 families with more people continuing to be brought in from slum settlements across the city. Vanessa Peter, policy researcher with the IRCDUC said, “There must be specific guidelines for disaster-resilient housing with specific emphasis on site selection. Perumbakkam and Semmencheri should have a flood-management plan in place.”
While the Chengalpattu collector remained unavailable for comments, the slum clearance board officials said that steps would be taken to prevent inundation in future.
“We are told that water from other areas are also passing through the site. We will take steps to divert that,” said an official.