No one will dare pillage a police station ever but cyclone Vardah mercilessly ransacked many police stations in the city and left a trail of destruction, which the police personnel cleared themselves.
Adyar Police Station, one of oldest police stations in the city, bore the brunt of cyclone. Huge trees located adjacent to the station uprooted and fell on the campus where the offices of Deputy Commissioner, Joint Commissioner and All Women Police Station are located.
Heaving a sigh of relief after clearing the fallen trees, G.Elango, Inspector of Police, said, “ It was an ordeal for us. Perhaps, we are the worst affected in the city. Immediately after the cyclone struck the campus, all our communication systems failed and green trees also fell on the campus. The parapet wall has also collapsed.”
Things were not different in other stations such as Ice House, Mylapore, Anna Salai, Mambalam police stations. At Chinthadripet police station, personnel lost the greenery they had personally planted.
An outpost made of wood and tin near Gandhi Statue on Marina Beach was thrown away by the gusty wind. The set up was mangled due to cyclone.
Deputy Commissioner, Mylapore, V. Balakrishnan said, “At least 22 green trees in each police station uprooted. We have lost over 600 trees located in and around all police stations.”
In Manali, the police station functions from a dilapidated building. All trees grown in the campus wilted down. The personnel had to clear the debris by themselves.
K. Deepak Kumar, Inspector of Police Manali, said, “Due to the cyclone, the entire greenery vanished and left a trail of destruction on the campus where fire and rescue service office and the quarters also function. Immediately after this, all our personnel cleared the fallen trees with the help of fire and rescue service personnel.”
In many areas of the city, police personnel have swung into action to remove the fallen trees for smooth traffic movement. Taking billhooks in hands, the police personnel went straight to the spot where many trees had fallen on the roads and removed the fallen trees without expecting any help from other departments.
Even senior police official were on the ground, coordinating with other agencies to remove the fallen trees.
P. Radhakrishnan, Assistant Commissioner, T. Nagar, said: “We have been patrolling since the cyclone struck the city. Our personnel swung into action and moved the trees aside using cranes provided by the Chennai Corporation.”
“We have removed the fallen trees from 100 points on East Coast Road without seeking any help from other departments besides clearing the mess around police stations,” said S. Pandian, Assistant Commissioner, Neelangarai.
