Trees choke Chennai

Hundreds of trees were uprooted, causing severe road blocks across the streets, while many lanes were closed off due to fallen trees. Vehicles had to take several detours, even as the Corporation staff were clearing as many trees as possible. Hari M, a resident of TTK Road, said he spotted at least 20 trees fallen in the locality. “My car, which was parked outside, escaped by a whisker as I had moved it into a sheltered space. My relative, who stays 2 kms away, took nearly an hour to return home,” he said. 

Lingeeswaran, a cab driver who was waiting to pick up his passenger in Kilpauk, was aghast as he watched a tree fall on the vehicle ahead of him. “I couldn’t pick up my passenger because the roads were blocked by the fallen trees. I had asked them to walk a few hundred metres to reach the car. While I was waiting, I ensured that I stayed far away from the trees. Because of this, a 20-minute ride took almost an hour,” he added.

The Chennai City Police had advised motorists to avoid Santhome High Road, Radhakrishnan Salai and Cathedral Road, as many trees had fallen, blocking the thoroughfares. Residents said that most of the lanes have been blocked and even apartment complexes were strewn with broken branches. Mohammed Nizam S, an IT professional living in Lloyd’s Road, said that in his locality, traffic was blocked. 

“Within the compound walls too, it is difficult to move around, as there were many branches. Finding the tree clearing crews were a challenge. When we called the Corporation, we were told that they will send a team out to clear it,” he added. In certain locations, trees were speedily cleared. A R Dilip Srinivasan, a resident of Perambur, posted on social media that Corporation officials cleared the tree blocking his lane, barely 15 minutes of reporting it. 

Santhosh, a resident of Tiruvotriyur, said that in his locality, a few residents got down to the ground to clear the roads. “The winds were heavy while we were clearing the trees to the best of our ability, to make a pathway for the vehicles to ply,” he added.

A senior official from Greater Chennai Corporation conceded that clearing fallen trees is top priority right now. 

“More than a thousand fallen trees have been reported. We are working to ensure that arterial roads are cleared at the earliest. Our staff will be working around the clock to clear away the trees. Water logging is not really a concern as we are equipped to deal with it. The storm water drains are functioning well and pump sets are being used in areas prone to inundation to ensure there isn’t severe water logging,” said the official. 

Considering the mammoth task of clearing the hundreds of fallen trees, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has mobilised manpower to tackle the task. A senior official said, “We are mobilising workers from places like Salem and Tiruchy to come to Chennai and help with clearing away the destruction caused by Cyclone Vardah. Around 700 persons have been marshalled and were already enroute to Chennai on December 12 to participate in the cleaning activity. Apart from garbage disposal, this team will focus on clearing away the fallen trees.”