CHENNAI: Public Works Minister Aadhav Arjuna inspected waterlogged areas and disaster management control rooms in Chennai on Sunday morning following intense rainfall from Saturday evening to the early hours of Sunday, as the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) deployed nearly 15,000 field workers across the city to tackle waterlogging and attend to emergencies.
The Minister inspected the State Disaster Management Control Room at Ezhilagam and the Integrated Command and Control Centre at the Ripon Building complex. He also visited severely waterlogged areas, including Parrys, Broadway Bus Terminus and Triplicane.
Speaking after the inspections, Aadhav Arjuna said Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay was receiving hourly updates on the situation, while ministers were overseeing relief and response operations on the ground.
He said the control room was functioning round the clock and urged residents to contact the GCC helpline at 1913 to report water stagnation and emergencies. He also appealed to news channels to continuously display the helpline number, adding that calls were routed directly to the IAS officers in charge of the respective zones.
Nearly 15,000 Corporation field workers had been deployed across all zones, the Minister said. Marriage halls had been identified in advance as temporary relief shelters, while IAS officers assigned to various zones had handled more than 80 emergency calls by the time of the briefing.
The Minister said electricity supply could be temporarily disconnected in severely inundated areas as a precautionary measure. Residents living in old or unsafe buildings, particularly 60-year-old Tamil Nadu Housing Board buildings in North Chennai, were urged to move temporarily to government relief centres.
The government was also seeking the assistance of non-governmental organisations in relief operations, he said.
Aadhav Arjuna said preparatory meetings had been held with officials, MLAs and ministers three days before the rainfall. Regional-level war rooms had also been established in addition to the main control room at Ezhilagam to coordinate emergency response measures.
After inspecting waterlogging in Ice House, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner G S Sameeran said senior officials, including deputy commissioners and joint commissioners, were inspecting affected areas and monitoring the situation.
One battalion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had been deployed with four inflatable boats, 40 life jackets, outboard motor generator sets and emergency medical kits. A 50-member battalion of the Tamil Nadu Disaster Response Force (TNDRF) was on standby at the Ripon Building for rapid deployment to North Chennai.
Five relief centres had also been readied with essential food supplies, officials said.
Authorities appealed to residents not to venture into flooded areas or near riverbanks to film videos or sightsee. Parents were urged to keep children indoors and away from stagnant water.
With heavy rainfall forecast to continue between October 17 and 21, particularly during night hours, the Corporation, police, traffic police, NDRF and SDRF were coordinating response and relief measures across the city.