City survives 30 cm of rain, braces for more

While the rainfall was not as intense as the previous evening, it resulted in several arterial roads flooding once again as Corporation workers and police rushed to the affected areas to clear traffic and drain the water. 

Earlier during the day, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Deputy CM O Panneerselvam and other cabinet colleagues visited Dr Vijayaragava Flyover in Royapuram and took stock of relief operations. 

They also visited RK Nagar where a medical camp was set up besides Old Perungalathur, Mudichur, Varadarajapuram and West Tambaram.   The Corporation joined hands with the police and worked through Thursday night to ensure that waterlogging in most parts of the city was cleared. They had identified waterlogging in 338 locations out of which water was pumped out in 102 by Friday. 

A total of 55 trees had fallen and were being cleared on a priority basis. In 144 areas, motor pumps were used to remove the water whereas 106 earthmovers were used to clear waterlogging in extended areas with no storm water drains. A massive force of 1,133 Corporation staff are engaged in relief operations round the clock, a release stated.   

Slamming as utterly inadequate the Tamil Nadu Government’s preparedness in handling the situation caused by just a few hours of rain, the Madras High Court directed the State to file a detailed report with regard to various steps taken to prevent waterlogging and draining the same within November 10.

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar while hearing a fresh Public Interest Litigation filed by advocate AP Suryaprakasam and two others pertaining to the 2015 Chennai floods, directed the State to expedite within three months, the removal of unauthorised encroachments on water-bodies and canals and remove the unauthorised constructions and structures blocking the drainage and other water flowing areas. The bench posted the matter to November 10. The High Court also directed the State government to provide Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the families of the two girls who were electrocuted at Kodungaiyur on Wednesday.

Even though Chennai had a brief respite from the rain on Friday morning, slight drizzles started by the evening which gave way to heavy downpour by 8:30 pm. The Regional Meteorological Centre, said there would be heavy spells of rain on Friday night in coastal districts, including Chennai and its suburbs, and that heavy rainfall will occur in the next few days. They also said a new low-pressure is likely to develop over Andaman Sea around November 7.   

Two days after two girls were electrocuted in Koadungaiyur, eight people, including two unidentified men whose bodies were found floating near the Marina beach and a pond in Trisoolam, respectively, were killed in rain related incidents in different parts of the city since Thursday night in Chennai. Out of the seven,  a teen from Bihar,  Gajendra Kumar, working at a construction site in Nanganallur, was electrocuted on Thursday night.