The Hindu : Front Page : Southern suburbs resemble an island

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 29, 2006
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Southern suburbs resemble an island

Staff Reporter

Residents shifting to safer areas; approach roads submerged

PHOTOS: A. MURALITHARAN AND R. RAGU

MAROONED: Access road to Kuberan Nagar, Madipakkam, under a sheet of rainwater on Saturday; (Below) The Adyar river flowing over the causeway connecting Gowl Bazaar and Gerugambakkam villages, forcing vehicles drivers to take a 15-km detour.

CHENNAI: Residents in the southern suburbs Madipakkam, Ullagaram-Puzhithivakkam, Perungudi, Moovarasampet and part of Velachery are getting marooned as rain pounded the city on Saturday.

The day's worst affected areas were Kubera Nagar and Kubera Nagar Extension, Madipakkam, which resembled an island.

Ramesh Sachdeva of Kubera Nagar Extension V Street, fears it could be a repeat of the previous monsoon when he had to vacate his home and reside in rented accommodation for more than 30 days. Many residents have shifted to other places due to flooding. All access roads to Kubera Nagar Extension have been submerged under knee-deep water.

It was the same story in Thiruvallur Nagar and Perungudi. Thiruvalluvar Nagar, inhabited by poor people, lacks civic infrastructure facilities. Slum dwellers who encroached on government land and enjoying political patronage had only themselves to blame. Residential colonies along the course of Veerangal Odai, the portion at Ullagaram-Puzhithivakkam where there is no watercourse, have also been badly affected along with AG's Colony in west Velachery. Sreenivasa Nagar and Ram Nagar North coming under Ullagaram-Puzhithivakkam are also submerged.

While a number of residential localities in south Chennai are battling inundation, Velachery, which is in news every monsoon, has got some respite this time. Except for a few areas such as Muruga Nagar, Kubera Nagar, Shankar Nagar, Annai Indira Nagar and Padmavathi Nagar, where houses that are situated on a low-level have been inundated, stagnation is minimum.

Corporation warning

Chennai Corporation officials warned that if MRTS authorities did not take action to improve drainage system, the situation in Velachery could turn serious. They point out the need to clear the debris, which is blocking the flow of rainwater through the two-vent culvert (behind V.G.P. Selva Nagar) and the sand bunds near the culvert to create a causeway for free flow of water into the Pallikaranai marshland. S. Kumararaja, secretary, Federation of Velachery Welfare Associations, says that even last year the failure of the MRTS authorities to remove the impediments at the culvert led to flooding in Velachery.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page