Monsoon plays havoc on suburban areas

In Krishna Nagar, Bharathi Nagar, Rayappa Nagar, CTO Colony in Tambaram and many parts of Perungalathur and Mudichur, Thursday night brought back memories of the 2015 flood. In Mudichur, many houses had added a first floor, keeping their important documents and belongings there, in case of rising water levels. For those who could not do this, they had to shit temporarily to the homes of their relatives and friends. 

Close to 200 residents staged a road-roko on the Tambaram-Mudichur Road. After this, residents said that the local body used machines to desilt the culverts and removed the water. The railway subway connecting Tambaram East and West remained closed to traffic. The overflow in Kolavai Lake led to the flooding of the GST Road and traffic crawled on the Chennai-Tiruchy National Highway. In Madipakkam, residents of Mahalakshmi Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar and LIC Nagar were forced to stay indoors due to flooding. 

In Chitalapakkam, residents stormed the local municipality office, demanding action. Following this, water was pumped out. Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam inspected the shelter in Old Perungalathur and ordered that the Pappan Canal, joining the Adayar Canal should be desilted immediately. 

In the city, parts of north Chennai such as Royapuram, Tiruvottiyur and Ambattur were waterlogged. In the SRS Sarvodaya Girls Hostel in Chetpet, rainwater mixed with sewage had entered into the building, posing problems for the inmates.