Chennai: North Tamil Nadu and the Delta districts received good rainfall on Wednesday. With heavy rains choking the state, Chennai and Kancheepuram suffered the most waterlogging. If the rains continue, north Tamil Nadu may be headed for a replay of the dark and damp days of the 2015 flash floods, warned officials who are monitoring the monsoon situation continuously. State ministers and senior IAS officers have also intensified their field visits as more rain-related complaints surfaced in Greater Chennai and Kancheepuram.
Bringing respite to water starved north TN — Ponneri, Cuddalore, Anaikaranchatram, Nagapattinam, Parangipettai, DGP office, Anna University, Thamaraipakkam in Tiruvallur, Marakkanam, Manimuth-aru in Tirunelveli and Nagapattinam received chief amount of rainfall ranging from 5 to 10 centimetres.
The southern suburbs of Mudichur, Goodwill Nagar, PTC colony, Lakshmipuram, CTO Colony that witnessed deaths in 2015 flash floods witnessed waterlogging, which sent the first wave of panic among people residing there who remember 2015 floods.
"On Wednesday, flat owners who saw water entering their parking lots in PTC colony moved their cars out a safe distance away and began clearing things from the ground floor. The situation of around 600 families in Goodwill Nagar is equally bad", said Karunkara Pandian, secretary, Goodwill Nagar Residents welfare association.
Anjugam Nagar in Tambaram is already flooded and people have been evacuated. The heavy rains in Kancheepuram district for the third consecutive day also increased the flow of water in Aadhanur and Paapan Canal and there is a breach in Aadhanur canal and if this not attended, there is every possibility of the repeat of 2015 flash floods, Mr Pandian cautioned.
"Except the untoward death of two children in north Chennai due to electrocution, the situation is very much under control. We are attending the monsoon issues on war footing and if there are no rains tonight the city will be normal by Thursday noon", a senior state official told DC.
"We are ready with the trained state disaster response force personnel and the situation is being monitored. So far there is no need for evacuations. Special officers and collectors are on the field speeding up the official machinery", commissioner of disaster management K Satyagopal said. Lakes are under surveillance and the desilting of water bodies has helped us to store 1.75 TMC of storm water, the official said.
Arterial roads connecting Chennai with Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram also witnessed crawling traffic due to potholes and waterlogging. Chennai Central, Saidapet, OMR, Egmore and Kodambakkam witnessed traffic snarls.
