On Friday morning, a policeman wearing a florescent Tamil Nadu police T-shirt and shorts, and another wearing a raincoat were standing on Rukmani Lakshmipathi Road in ankle-deep water and clearing traffic — their intention was to prevent motorists from riding into a big pothole and falling down.
Hundreds of policemen like them were found in various parts of the city from Thursday night, either clearing traffic or stagnant water on arterial roads. “Our men did not sleep on Thursday night as rain continued to lash the city. We wanted to ensure that traffic moved slowly and there was no flooding,” said a senior police officer.
Images of T. Veerakumar, Vepery law and order inspector, kneeling on the platform and clearing drainage blocks on the road near Gandhi Irwin Bridge in Egmore, went viral on social media. “I did it so that motorists are not affected,” he said.
Police Commissioner A.K. Viswanathan on Friday instructed police personnel to extend all assistance possible to the relief and rehabilitation works undertaken by the Corporation and government authorities. Mr. Viswanathan, along with senior officers, visited waterlogged areas, including a few subways, and asked the officers to take immediate steps with the assistance of the Corporation to pump out water.
Police personnel in areas such as Flower Bazaar and Taramani arranged food for residents affected by waterlogging
Distribution of supplies
In Velachery and Taramani, the distribution of relief, food and ration supplies was headed by Joint Commissioner of police, South, T.S. Anbu.
Four teams of the State Disaster Response Force, with 40 personnel each, are ready to respond to any emergency. Equipped with six fiber boats and four inflatable rubber boats, as well as equipment like metal and concrete cutters and medicines, the teams will be pressed into service when the need arises.
“We have two control room numbers - 044- 24343661 and 662. We got a call from Mudichur on Thursday night and one of our teams was deployed,” said a police officer.
Fishermen also are prepared to help during the emergency. “Over 100 of our boats are ready in Nochikuppam and Kasimedu. Last time, they sought our help and this time too, we are prepared,” said K. Bharati, president, South Indian Fishermen’s Welfare Association.
