Chennai: Chennai was virtually submerged Wednesday after the city was pounded by the worst rains in over a century, with over thousands of families rendered homeless, crucial road and rail links getting destroyed and flight operations being suspended.
Chennai, which received 49 cm of rain and Chembarambakkam, where the reservoir surplussed about 25,000 cusecs of water into Adyar river, received 47 cm of rain in the last 24 hours that flooded the city and the suburbs, uprooting people from their homes.
Floodwaters reached up to the second floor of the Housing Board colonies on the banks of Adyar river as people reached rooftops looking for rescue and relief in several parts of the city and suburbs.
The death toll in the rains that have lashed the city and other parts of state has gone up to 197, officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who spoke to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa Tuesday night and promised all assistance, held discussions with Cabinet colleagues Rajnath Singh (Home), Arun Jaitley (Finance) and M Venkaiah Naidu (Parliamentary Affairs) in the morning to take stock of the situation.
The National Crisis Management Committee headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha reviewed the situation and assured the state of all support from the Centre.
All modes of transport — air, road and rail services — remained suspended due to the unprecedented deluge, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at the airport and various rail terminals. Suburban rail services also remained suspended.
Adding to the worry of the citizens and administration, the weatherman has forecast rainfall over the next three days with the next 48 being very critical under the influence of a trough of low pressure and upper air circulation over the southwest Bay of Bengal and Sri Lankan coast.
Massive rescue and rehabilitation efforts have been undertaken by the armed forces in worst-hit areas of the city.
An unprecedented 25,000 cusecs of water was released from the Chembarambakkam lake as the reservoir has been getting heavy supplies from the rain in catchment areas.
Electricity has been cut off in most parts of the city as a precautionary measure while people went without essential supplies like milk and water.
Air Force helicopters were seen distributing food packets in some of the worst-hit areas.
The Southern Railways cancelled 16 trains and diverted 12 others both on the Chennai Central and Egmore sections following breaching of tracks in several areas.
The airport, whose runway, tarmac and apron areas have been flooded with rainwater, has been shut down till 6 AM tomorrow. Operations were suspended at the airport last night itself. Flights to Chennai have been diverted to Bangalore, Hyderabad and other nearby cities.
In view of the water logging, Chennai Airport authorities have shut operations till 6 AM tomorrow. All airlines have cancelled their operations from Chennai airport where stranded passengers have been having a horrid time.
The Airports Authority of India has issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) to all air operators in this regard, an AAI spokesperson said in New Delhi.
Rajnath Singh told reporters in Delhi that the Centre has deployed Army, Navy and NDRF teams in sufficient numbers.
“The Prime Minister has issued a memorandum and we have deployed our Central team there to assess the situation and make a report so that every possible help can also reach there,” Singh said.
Four columns of army’s Garrison Infantry Battalion have been pressed into service in Tambaram, Mudichur, Manipakkam, Guduvanchery and Oorakapakkam areas and Oorapakkam where water level reached 10 to 12 feet. Additional columns were on standby in Secunderabad and while two more columns were brought from Bangalore.
30 army trucks have also employed for ferrying stranded people. The army personnel have rescued over 750 people till the evening, an army press release said.
The Navy has also been deployed to assist in the operations. Navy personnel have been deployed in Sadiapet area of Chennai to rescue people marooned in low-lying areas.
The NDRF is airlifting another 15 teams to the rain-battered state. While 10 teams are being airlifted from Bhubaneshwar to Tirupati, another five teams are being lifted from Delhi, NDRF DG O P Singh said.Each team comprises 40 personnel.
The famous IT corridor was also flooded. Work in the IT and auto hubs in the suburbs and the industrial estate in Ambattur has been crippled.
While travellers from southern districts have been stranded midway, thousands of passengers were left helpless in Chennai Central and Egmore stations.
Suburban railway services in Chennai have also been suspended because of flooding of tracks. Trains from northern, eastern, western and other parts of south India to Chennai were cancelled or diverted.
However, the crisis also brought people together, with social media coming in handy.
On social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, people offered to provide food and shelter to affected persons.
Young volunteers were seen manning flooded roads, alerting motorists of potholes and lent a helping hand to push vehicles that broke down in the water.
In many areas, policemen were seen advising residents about safer zones even as police personnel, many of whom were drenched, cleared traffic and stood near potholes, directing road-users to safer spots.
Scores of Chennaiites also thronged bridges built over Adyar river at Saidapet and Kotturpuram, to watch it in spate. However, policemen did not allow them too close to the gushing water.
The private sector also came to a near standstill.
Many offices were closed while some managements, especially those in the IT sector, advised their employees to work from home or give work a miss in case they could not. pti
