CHENNAI: Normalcy was affected in Chennai and several areas in the capital city reported flooding after incessant rains lashed the city on Wednesday night and a few subways were closed due to water logging.
Traffic snarls also irked the motorists for several hours. Vadapalani, Koyambedu, Guindy, Ambattur, Anna Nagar, Puzhal, Kodambakkam, Kathivakkam, Velachery, Chetpet, Kolathur, Thiruvanmiyur and Perambur were among the areas that were flooded.
Stretches like Five furlong road, Padi bridge to Thirumangalam and Subways in Perambur and Saidapet suffered water logging.
Kolathur, that received the highest amount of 62.44 mm of rainfall, witnessed flooding in several parts of the area. S Venkatesh, a resident of Korattur, said, "Senthil Nagar in Kolathur is flooded in just an hour and it is a connecting point for motorists travelling to Korattur, Puzhal, Redhills, Villivakkam and Anna Nagar. The storm water drains seem to be not serving the purpose."
"The public endured the inconveniences of irregular roads and ditches as the stormwater drains construction was going on, as we were hopeful that it would help to control flooding. If the Chief Minister's constituency is in such a state, we don't know about the rest of the city, " he added.
While the main roads including the Arcot Road and 100 ft Road experienced traffic snarls for about 3-4 hours, the interior roads and streets remained flooded. A resident of the Meigai Vinayagar Street in Vadapalani said that the streets behind the Forum Mall and Vadapalani Bus Depot remained flooded.
"This is a common issue for us during the monsoon. Despite raising a complaint with the local authorities, there has been no resolution, " said the resident.
Areas near the Chetpet railway station, Thiru-vi-ka Nagar and Vyasarpadi Jeeva station also saw flooding.
A Abindam, a resident of Jagannathpuram said that people have to walk through knee deep water to walk to the station. "It's a perennial issue and water only recedes after 4-5 hours. Even if one chooses to choose public transport to avoid traffic issues, reaching the station itself is a major issue, " he added. Two subways in the city are closed for traffic.
As per GCC rainfall data, the second highest rainfall recorded in Ambattur is 54.3 mm. Followed by 46.8 mm in Kathivakkam, 39.6 mm Vanagaram, and 36.6 mm in Puzhal. The Chennai Corporation has 490 motor pumps ready to pump out the stagnated water on the roads.