Just a moderate shower, but Cooum and snakes invade Pallavan Nagar homes

CHENNAI: Residents of Pallavan Nagar near Chintadripet have been wading through one-foot deep water since Saturday night, when sewage-mixed Cooum flooded their homes.Though the water level receded on Monday, residents said that along with the water have come snakes, centipedes and other venomous creatures, putting the locality of around 1,100 families at risk. Says Ansar B, a resident of Pallavan Nagar for over 22 years, “We couldn’t go to work because of the water inside our homes. The unbearable stench aside, the danger for the children is that they are exposed to these creatures.”

She added that though they managed to recover most of their belongings, some like school books have already been damaged beyond recovery. Annadurai P, another resident, said, “This has happened during heavy rains and we are continuing to live with the same risk.” According to residents, the recent rains, though moderate, have led to the ordeal that lasted until the local MLA,  PK Sekar Babu, intervened. “The cause of the flooding has not been identified yet. We have, however, made arrangements to accommodate those affected elsewhere and for Corporation officials to drain and clean the area.”

He assured that the garbage left behind by the water would also be cleared by Tuesday.

While the Greater Chennai Corporation has gone into overdrive, evicting families from the banks of the Cooum under the Cooum restoration project, residents in Pallavan Nagar had earlier put up a stiff resistance against being resettled in Perumbakkam for fear of losing their livelihood.

“We have asked to be resettled here or somewhere close by because it’s better that we die from the floods than lose our livelihood,” said Kannamma M, a resident.