The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : When the Corporation helpline didn’t stop buzzing

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Sunday, Nov 30, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

When the Corporation helpline didn’t stop buzzing

City Bureau

Chennai: The Chennai Corporation’s helpline telephones trilled every two minutes at the control room in the Ripon Building as complaints about water-logging poured in on Saturday.

Four lines were made available for the phone number 1913 and complaints were recorded. Grievances about water-logging topped the list of complaints. Non-functioning of streetlights, clearing of tree branches and potholed roads were the other complaints. Complaints were also received via cell phone messages to the number 9789951111.

According to a release, about 15 lakh packets of food were distributed to those affected by the floods in the last four days. Mayor M. Subramanian visited several areas including Ekkaduthangal, Kotturpuram, Perambur, Royapuram and Kasimedu to oversee relief operations . About 50 boats were used to rescue people stranded in inundated localities. Diesel pumps and 35 HP motors were operated to drain out water. Bleaching powder and disinfectant were sprayed in several residential areas. Fogging operations have been intensified to control the mosquito menace. About 230 trees that were uprooted in the rains have been cleared since Wednesday.

Special medical camps held in 67 places to reach out to about 13,000 people. Chlorine tablets for water purification were given to people and they were encouraged to drink only boiled water. Relief centres functioned from Corporation schools and community halls were large amounts of tamarind rice and tomato rice were prepared for distribution. Milk packets were also given away in some places. Metrowater supplied 1,756 tankers of water to flooded areas on Friday and Saturday. About 14,500 persons were moved to safer places in the last two days, a Corporation release said here. The National Disaster Response Force helped to transport people on boats in Virugambakkam and Arumbakkam. At least 10 companies drawn from different battalions of the Tamil Nadu Special Police have been deployed for flood relief, traffic management and security duties in the city, Commissioner of Police K. Radhakrishnan said.

Weather forecast

The Regional Meteorological Centre has that the amount of rainfall is likely to come down in the next few days. Nungambakkam received 5.8 mm of rainfall and Meenambakkam 5.9 mm of rainfall during the 12-hour period that ended at 8.30 p.m. on Saturday. The Meteorological Department officials said that the city would experience one or two spells of showers or thundershowers on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the discharge from the city reservoirs has decreased in tune with the declining inflow. A Water Resources Department official said the release from Chembarambakkam reservoir had been reduced to 4,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) and the outflow from Poondi reservoir decreased to 3,500 cusecs on Saturday.

Nearly 16,000 cusecs of water was being let out from both the reservoirs on Friday, which led to inundation in the areas downstream.

An official said if the inflow declined, the discharge would be stopped by Sunday. However, the volume of drinking water lost due to heavy discharge in the past two days was yet to be assessed.

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