1 week Ago By Praveena S A
CHENNAI: Despite the heavy rain ceasing over 24 hours ago, northern areas in the city, including Pattalam, Pulianthope, Vyasarpadi, Vadaperumbakkam, and Athipattu Puthunagar, remained severely waterlogged on Wednesday night. TNIE observed that while areas such as Manali and Manali New Town, which usually experience water stagnation, were relatively unaffected, some other parts were found grappling with severe flooding. Suganthi S (34), a resident of Pattalam, had to leave home on Tuesday with two young daughters after water began seeping into their tin-roofed house.
Although the rain stopped a day ago, streets in Kanakaraya Thottam, KM Garden, Choolai, and Anjaneya Kovil Street remained inundated. Suganthi, who works as a house help in an apartment, said she had to wade through knee-deep water to clean the apartment while her own home remained in shambles. She said no food was provided in her area, forcing her to bring food from her workplace for her children.
In Pulianthope, the streets of Thattankulam, Munusamy, Rudhrapa, and Iyyavu remain inundated with knee-deep water. The water, which reached waist-level on Tuesday, only partially receded the following day. A corporation official told TNIE that the Munusamy canal is an outdated arch drain that carries both rainwater and sewage, but its low capacity often results in flooding.
The official added they are considering either removing encroachments and expanding the canal, or creating another direct water path to the Buckingham Canal. Currently, the rainwater must flow through Munusamy Canal to reach Gandhi Canal, then pass through Otteri Nullah, and finally drain into the B-Canal. A 350 HP motor that was permanently installed in the area to pump out flood water along with 10 tractor-mounted pumps, were operational, and officials said the water would be drained by Thursday.
Meanwhile, the residents complained that food and medical aid were only available on the main roads. In Vyasarpadi’s Mullai Nagar, residents who had left their homes on Tuesday, have not yet returned. Surplus from the Captain Cotton Canal has also flooded nearby areas, including Ezhil Nagar.
Furthermore, areas like Vadaperumbakkam, Kargil Nagar, and Rajaji Nagar in Thiruvottiyur are waterlogged, with around 300 people sheltered in a nearby relief centre. Meanwhile, Athipattu Puthunagar is inundated with sewage-mixed rainwater. Shanthi (name changed), a resident, alleged that flooding became an issue in the area about seven to eight years ago when the BPCL and NTPC facilities were constructed near Ennore Creek, which blocked natural drainage routes.
Suganthi Vadivel, Athipattu Pudhunagar Panchayat President, alleged that the existing culverts are inadequate for draining floodwaters. While BPCL constructed one culvert, and NTPC built three, the district administration subsequently directed them to construct additional culverts as these are insufficient, but it is still pending. While affected residents were relocated to a total of 36 relief centres, leaky roofs in a few of these shelters forced the people to further shift to other locations.
In Ward 37, the designated relief centre was turned into a communal kitchen, and residents were redirected to Udaya Suriyan Nagar Primary School. However, due to leaky roofs, they were relocated again on Tuesday night to the nearby Chennai High School, said Shakthi, a resident of Vyasarpadi. In Ward 35, the residents could not use the toilets at the relief centre as the workers there said construction of the school’s drainage system was incomplete, said Kodungaiyur resident L M Jaiganesh.
He urged the officials to first inspect the condition of relief centre buildings before allocating them for public use..
