The heavy showers in the city and its suburbs till Thursday morning took a toll on the roads, brought traffic to a standstill in many places and resulted in the vegetables becoming dearer.
In the 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m. on Thursday, Nungambakkam registered a rainfall of 53 mm and Meenambakkam 45 mm. Many localities remained water-logged till Thursday afternoon though it did not rain during the day. Chennai Corporation workers removed four uprooted trees from a few areas, including Valluvar Kottam and Thiruvanmiyur.
Residents said several places had heavy rainfall accompanied by thunder on Wednesday night.
Motorists had a tough task negotiating the inundated stretches, especially in areas such as Vyasarpadi, Korukkupet, Mint, Tondiarpet and Ganesapuram. Rain hampered vehicle movement at Broadway, Adyar and T. Nagar, which are perennially choked with traffic.
Motorists complained that many roads have been reduced to shambles, as the blacktopping has been washed away. S.Arun, a resident of Kodambakkam, said “I have to frequently check for flat tyre as many roads I travel on has gravel jutting out.”
Use of bricks to fill up potholes as in the case of Usman Road did not help much and posed risk of accidents. Many stretches of Jawaharlal Nehru Road, lanes off Arya Gowder Road in West Mambalam, 11th and 6th Avenues in Ashok Nagar, Velachery Main Road and Kaliamman Koil Street in Koyambedu have been damaged and developed pot holes.
Damaged stretches in southern suburbs affected traffic on arterial roads such as Mudichur Road and Medavakkam Main Road. Tambaram recorded 64.6 mm of rainfall till 8 a.m. on Thursday.
Passenger trains on Tambaram and Chennai Beach route were stopped between 8.50 and 9.30 a.m. owing to problem related to the signal between Tambaram and Tambaram Sanatorium railway stations, which was attributed to the rain.
Trains towards Tambaram and Chennai Beach were stranded on the tracks until the problem was set right. The problem had a severe impact on the services between Tambaram and Chengalpattu, according to Southern Railway officials.
Vegetable supply from various States and across Tamil Nadu witnessed a dip in view of the rains over the past few days.
Traders said the cost of onions shot up to Rs.40 a kg in the retail market at Koyambedu complex. Some of the other vegetables that turned dearer were brinjal (Rs.28 per kg), broad beans and carrots (Rs.30 per kg) and drumstick (Rs.40/kg).
M.Muthu, a retail vendor at Koyambedu, said even cabbage and mint leaves became costly and were sold at Rs.10. Sales were also dull as water stagnated in many parts of the market.
V.R.Soundararajan, a wholesale trader, said the sales dipped by 25 per cent as many people chose to buy lesser quantity.
The cost threatens to go up as the transporters' associations have called for a strike from Sunday midnight.
The Meteorological Department has forecast more rainfall in the coastal districts, including Chennai, on Friday as the trough of low pressure extends from Sri Lanka to southwest Bay of Bengal off Tamil Nadu coast.
