Public stuck inside flooded homes as EB cuts supply to southern suburbs of Chennai

KS Raja, a resident of Guduvancherry, said the power went off on Saturday afternoon in his area and was not restored till Sunday. “Our major trouble was that there was no water in the overhead tank. To make matters worse, the streets were flooded. We got stuck with children and elderly people in the house,” he said.

A senior Tangedco official said southern suburbs were severely hit by rains and subsequent flooding leading to power cuts. “We have stopped power supply to the suburbs like Guduvancherry, Mudichur, Medavakkam and Semmencheri due to flooding. We will not be able to restore power supply unless the water level recedes to a safer level,” the official said.

In the previous week’s rain, the official said, Central Chennai and North Chennai witnessed heavy inundation and the power supply was suspended. “We are restoring power supply in West Mambalam areas. If the water level is over the junction boxes, the power supply will be suspended,” the official noted.

After spending several lakhs to pump out rainwater from its compound, residents of a residential complex in T Nagar demanded compensation from the government towards the expenses they incurred during the rains.

In a petition to the government and the Greater Chennai Corporation, Shreebagh Flat Owners’ Association in T Nagar pointed out the residential complex comprising of 28 flats on Motilal Street was constructed 25 years ago.

“When the residents took possession of the flats, the road level was four feet below the floor level of the building. Re-laying of the road without milling over the years has increased the height of the road,” the association said in the petition.

The association claimed that the residents had to spend Rs 1.75 lakh to pump out rainwater from the premises.

“Further, the flooding displaced our residents on the ground floor (7 flats) and they incurred an expense of Rs 50,000 each amounting to Rs 3.50 lakh. Others on the first, second and third floors spent a total of Rs 6.30 lakh,” the petition added.

VS Jayaraman, a resident of the complex fumed that the residents are facing similar issues every year. “We have been continuously pumping the water out since November 5.”

Pointing out that the predicament is mainly due to the negligence of civic agencies, the association has sought Rs 11.55 lakh as relief from the government and the civic body.