Chennai floods: Train services pick up pace, Met forecasts heavy rains

Chennai: Flood-ravaged Chennai and its suburbs enjoyed further respite from rains on Saturday but residents battled scarcity of commodities and high prices while communication services and train services were partially restored.

But air services, suspended till Sunday, may take two or three more days to resume. Only technical flights and ferry services were operated on Saturday. However, intermittent rains and an overcast sky have left people worried. The Regional Meteorological Centre has forecast heavy rains in the next 24 hours for the city and suburbs.

Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, S R Ramanan told reporters that heavy rains were possible in the coastal and southern districts of the state. He has advised fishermen of southern coastal districts against venturing into sea for fishing. At least 245 people have died in rain-related incidents since October one.

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The worst-hit city and suburbs and Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts  took a pounding on Tuesday when a large number of areas were flooded. The deluge destroyed crucial road and rail links, shutdown the airport, snapped power and telecom lines and left lakhs of people stranded.

In a big relief to the hapless residents, supply of milk and vegetables picked up pace today but there were complaints of scarcity in several places coupled with high prices for essentials. Mobile phone and internet services were getting restored in a staggered manner in several parts of the city.

Bringing cheers to stranded passengers, Southern Railway announced resumption of services to several inter-State destinations including Bengaluru and Mysore from here effective tomorrow. Also, local train services here resumed today between Egmore-Tambaram.