Heavy rains in Tamil Nadu lead to floods in subways, hospitals

Not just the low-lying areas and those identified as flood-prone, several VVIP roads, subways, hospitals, and posh localities bore the brunt of the incessant rains that lashed Chennai continuously for nearly 16 hours.

Several parts of the city went without power for hours together as electricity supply was snapped as a precautionary measure due to heavy winds, even as residents complained of knee-deep water in many localities, including the VVIP areas like Alwarpet, which houses the residence of Chief Minister M K Stalin. The rains that began Wednesday afternoon continued non-stop till Thursday morning and came back again within a few hours.

Not just north Chennai, several posh localities in the south and central Chennai like the business district of T. Nagar, West Mambalam, Ashok Nagar, Kodambakkam, Alwarpet, Teynampet and Velachery reported the worst flooding as the water did not recede till the time of writing. The rains added further to the woes of many areas in north Chennai which has been reeling under floods since 20 cm of rainfall lashed the city on November 6.

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Residents of T. Nagar, where the Smart City project was implemented, were put to severe inconvenience as several localities were inundated due to the floods. Questions are being asked about the quality of works executed under the Smart City project.

Personnel of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), who were involved in draining water, said banned plastic had choked the water in more than 300 places and that was cleared. Though GCC said it had deployed over 500 giant motor pumps to drain the rainwater, social media was flooded with SOS messages seeking help in heavily waterlogged areas.

Of the 16 subways in the city, 13 were inundated with water and closed for traffic on Thursday morning, while several roads were also closed for public use due to waterlogging. Rainwater entered government-run hospitals in KK Nagar, Chromepet, and Tambaram forcing the hospitals to shift patients to nearby facilities.

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Residents of Velachery, parts of which were inundated due to the rains that have been lashing Chennai for the past one week, parked their cars on a flyover, learning from the 2015 floods during which thousands of vehicles were damaged as the city was underwater for a few days.

“I did not want to take any chances this time. The street I live in doesn’t have much water, but you never know when water will enter. So, I decided to park my vehicle on the Velachery flyover. My vehicle is safe at least,” Naveen Kumar, a software professional, said.

Though crores of rupees were spent over the years on the stormwater drain, water continued to remain stagnated in many areas where the project was implemented. “T. Nagar was projected as a smart city, but the rains have exposed all such claims. Water got choked at many places due to the fault of contractors and officials of the GCC. We have been suffering from flooding for the past few days. How long we should continue to suffer?” Arvind from T. Nagar asked.

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