Chennai rains 2017: city survives heavy rainfall, braces for more

Battered North Chennai back to normal

A scene from MKB Nagar in North Chennai   | Photo Credit: V Ganesan

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Many areas suffered inundation due to Thursday’s downpour

The rain that lashed the city on Thursday night took the life of a 61-year-old woman in Ennore as she died due to a wall collapse. Though Thursday’s downpour inundated many parts of North Chennai in the night, situation returned to normalcy by late Friday afternoon.

According to police, the woman who died has been identified as Razia, 61, who resided in a small mud house in Nehru Nagar, Ennore.

“On Friday morning when one of her daughters went inside the house to wake her up, she saw the mud wall in the rear side of the house had collapsed on her and the woman was found dead beneath it,” said a senior police officer. A police complaint has been registered with the Ennore police.

Some areas badly hit

Parts of R.K. Nagar, Kodungaiyur, M.K.B Nagar and some settlements along the Manali Expressway and Ennore High Road were inundated. “There was knee deep water in the locality on Thursday night and till Friday morning. But the civic agencies kept pumping out the water and things returned to normalcy by Friday noon,” said Koteeshwari, a flower vendor in Kargil Vetri Nagar off the Manali Road.

Nagalingam, a resident of Jothi Nagar, off Manali Express Road, said he has been a resident of the locality for the past 40 years. “Everytime it rained there is waist deep water. There is no drainage facility or stormwater drains in the locality," he said.

Residents of Kargil Nagar said that there was flooding in some of the streets such as Gandhi Street, Shastri Street, Indira Gandhi Street among others. “There is no drainage system in the locality. So it becomes difficult for water to drain away,” said Rajeshwari, a resident of Indira Gandhi street.

Meanwhile, in V.O.C Nagar, Tiruvottiyur water entered many houses on Thursday night. “Civic agencies baled out the water using motor pumps on Friday morning,” said Maran, a resdident of V.O.C Nagar Link street.

A good catch

In most parts of North Chennai, youngsters gathered in large numbers to fish from the stagnant rainwater. “Every time it rained, water stagnates in the open ground off the Ennore High Road near the Indian Oil Corporation premises.

Hundreds of youngsters gather here to fish and they spend time here till evening. It becomes a tourist spot,” said A. Srinivas of Sastri Nagar, off the Ennore High Road.

Power supply was disrupted in R.K. Nagar police station to prevent electrocution. “We were not able to register FIRs and carry out our work. Power was restored only on Friday afternoon,” said an officer.

Printable version | Nov 5, 2017 3:44:11 AM | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/battered-north-chennai-back-to-normal/article19978177.ece

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