CHENNAI/COIMBATORE: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and BJP state president K Annamalai on Thursday criticised the DMK government for the stagnation of rainwater in many places in Chennai.
In a message on X (formerly Twitter), Palaniswami said the government has not faced any cyclone during the past two-and-half years but has been boasting itself of undertaking flood-prevention works in Chennai at a huge cost of Rs 4,000 crore. “For a normal rain, Chennai is floating. This is evidence of the ‘Dravidian model’ government. AIADMK cadre should extend help to people affected by rain,” he added.
Annamalai, in his tweet, said, “It has become a routine for Chennai to face problems during the rainy season. People have started asking what happened to the thousands of crores of rupees allocated for the flood-prevention work. Despite hard work by officials, if the situation could not be improved, it would mean that there is a fundamental fault. Damaged roads and stagnating water have made stormwater drain works undertaken by the government questionable.”
Talking to reporters at Karamadai on Thursday, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan said, “The ruling party said rainwater would not stagnate on city roads and that it would clear the water within an hour. However, people in Chennai are struggling to cover even one km in an hour owing to water stagnation. The situation in Anna Nagar, Adyar and Nungambakkam is bad. The condition is worst in Kolathur, Stalin’s constituency.”
Low-lying areas in Chennai flooded: PMK
Chennai: PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss on Thursday urged the state government to take immediate steps to drain the floodwater from the streets of Chennai. In a statement, he expressed concern over the stagnation of rainwater on the streets of the city and its suburban areas. He condemned the GCC for its lethargic attitude in draining rainwater from the streets. Highlighting the sufferings of people, he said rainwater entered houses in low-lying areas of the city and several residential areas have become islands due to water stagnation. He further added there is no sign of ministers visiting their Assembly constituencies to carry out relief work despite news reports stating that Chief Minister MK Stalin has ordered the ministers to carry out relief work on a war footing.