Motorists struggle to negotiate inundated roads, mechanics have busy day

CHENNAI: With the heavy downpour on Thursday cutting off north Chennai from other parts of the city, the people who had to take the Ganeshpuram subway had a very tough time. The Perambur Barracks Road was inundated with water gushing from all the lanes to the main road and as a result, people had a hellish time going back home.

Though the Vyasarpadi flyover came as a saviour for the people in Sathyamoorthy Nagar, Mullai Nagar, Kodungaiyur, Kannadasan Nagar, Mahakavi Bharathiyar Nagar and other surrounding areas, motorists from Purasawakkam, who had to reach the above mentioned areas via the Perambur Barracks Road, were cut off.

Meanwhile, as many vehicles were submerged in the rainwater, city mechanics had a busy day on Friday.
Traffic was severely affected in areas such as Gandhi-Irwin Road, Maduravoyal and Marina. The 15-km stretch of Poonamalle High Road was blocked and a person starting at the Madurvoyal junction around 7 pm, when the rain started, reached Central railway station only by 11 pm. The road that connected Kilpauk Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Hospital, Koyambedu, Egmore, Arumbakkam and Aminjikarai was blocked as vehicles crawled. Potholes added to the woes.

Places such as Vepery High Road and the rear side of the Central railway station was clogged with almost two-foot  deep water. Many autorickshaws and bikes stopped after rainwater seeped through the silencer. Some vehicles did not start after the long wait in the rain. “Usually water getting into the silencer poses a serious threat and other problems like head lights bursting and starting trouble are the major issues which come along with the rain” says Anbu Raj, who runs a mechanic shop in Mandhaveli.

He added, “Many do not realise that driving through the rain is more dangerous than waiting for the rain to subdue.” Many people who drove through cars and bikes parked them along the roadside so that they could get the repair work done the next morning.

“A real time weather forecast can be a relief for people as it will help us in knowing which way we should go.” said Lijo who drove in the rain-hit area. “I have been getting a lot of vehicles since morning and also visited cars that were stranded near Central and Marina beach,” says Muthuvel, another mechanic from Besant Nagar. Mahalingam, a mechanic from Adyar, said: “Since I cannot finish work today itself, I asked a few customers to come tomorrow or the day after.”