MADURAI: A night of relentless rain left several parts of Madurai waterlogged on Monday, disrupting early morning routines and prompting residents to call for urgent civic intervention. According to the district administration, the city recorded an average of 37 mm rainfall, with showers that began late Sunday continuing well past midnight.
District officials launched early clearing operations, deploying teams across inundated stretches to pump out stagnated water and unclog stormwater drains. District collector K J Praveen Kumar inspected waterlogged areas around the Meenakshi Amman Temple and nearby commercial zones.
He directed departments to speed up removal of silt and debris. At the Thayir Market Junction, where stagnation is a recurring issue, corporation teams opened the culvert to desilt the drains.
“The rainfall has resulted in road damage in several parts of the city, causing severe hardships for residents. The corporation should have taken measures before the monsoon to prevent such issues,” said T Nageswaran, an activist from Madurai.
Corporation officials stated that Rs 2 crore worth of patchwork had recently begun across all five zones. Roadwork from Thavitty Santhai to Keela Vasal is also set to commence shortly. Officials added that pre-monsoon desilting had helped prevent stagnation in several pockets of the city.
Severe water stagnation at Mattuthavani market
At the Mattuthavani Central Vegetable Market, traders alleged acute water stagnation following the rainfall and said that longstanding issues remain unresolved despite repeated petitions. Association president N Chinnamayan said, “The internal roads are badly damaged. Even a short spell of rain creates large pools of stagnant water.
Over the past week, the entire premises has been submerged, making business extremely difficult.” Despite years of requests for road repair, drainage facilities and basic amenities, “no significant action has been taken, and the situation has only worsened,” Chinnamayan added.
Traders said damaged roads worsen the problem, with vehicles splashing muddy water onto stalls and affecting produce quality. “We end up cleaning the space ourselves daily just to avoid further loss,” a trader said.
Corporation sources said steps are underway to address the issues.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) is expected to roll out climate-smart interventions, including improved garbage management, better stormwater handling and renewable energy installations.