When compared to the traumatic events of two years ago, this year’s monsoon so far has been kinder to north Chennai. On Saturday, while there was knee-deep water in a few areas, government officials were spotted every 500 metres in key localities, cleaning roads, pumping water and helping residents navigate inundated stretches.
But many interior areas were crying for immediate attention. More than 20 residents with whom The Hindu spoke to in north Chennai underlined that the need of the hour was good infrastructure, not merely food and relief material.
Shakthi Ganapathy Nagar in Thiruvottiyur was a huge water pool. U. Ashok Kumar, a resident, said that water has been stagnating here for the past three days. “People here have not stepped out of their homes for two days. But if you compare this with 2015, the situation is much better,” he added. Similar was the situation in nearby Rajaji Nagar. V. Venkatesh, an auto driver, and long time resident, said that officials who visit stop at the main road and don’t go into the small streets which need attention. “We tried calling the helpline numbers but there was no response,” he said.
At the end of the road, K. Amudha was wading through the water to buy her daily supplies. “The situation is better than in 2015 but you can’t walk in this water every time you step out,” she said. Residents and shopkeepers here said that there are three key issues – garbage, storm water drainage and roads. “If the State government attends to these issues once the rain halts, it would benefit residents here,” said Ramanathan, a driver.
Damage control
On the Manali road, a group of residents, who had gathered to watch officials remove water, said the government should study the area and provide proper infrastructure. “The government elevates the main roads as they lead to industrial areas but they fail to attend to the smaller roads on either side where water flows during rain,” said S. Ramaswamy a resident here. “If the government had cleaned all the drains, we could have controlled the damage to an extent.”
On Saturday afternoon, at Thadhan Kuppam, Villivakkam, Tamil Development Minister Ma. Foi. Pandiarajan inspected stormwater drains.
Over 80 per cent of shops were closed at Burma Bazaar, where each shop on an average sells goods worth ₹25,000-40,000 per day.