Though there was not much rain for most of Tuesday, several low-level areas in the western and southern suburbs continued to be inundated.
Residents of Gnanamurthy Nagar, Ambattur, said they had to wade through knee-deep water as there was no proper channel to drain rainwater.
M.R. Chockalingam, a resident of Gnanamurthy Nagar, said water entered many houses on streets, including Rajamanickam Street and Vittal Street. This has been a regular feature in the locality for the past few years as a proper stormwater drain network has not been constructed, he said. Residents of Narayan Nagar Extension shared similar woes.
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Roy Rozario, president of Anglo-Indian Suburban Front, said the dug-up roads for laying water pipeline had compounded the problem of water-logging. He complained that the area lacked a channel to drain water into the Korattur lake.
Officials of the Ambattur Municipality said water was being baled out from Gnanamurthy Nagar and Narayan Nagar and a channel had been cut to drain water. For the past two days, many residents of Ayanambakkam falling under the Thiruverkadu Municipality had been using thermocol blocks as make-shift boats to reach their houses. Many places such as Mel Ayanambakkam, Janasakthipuram, Masilamani Nagar and Dinesh Nagar have been under four feet of water.
Ezhilarasi Prathanam, ward 1 councillor, said flooding in the locality was a regular feature and it would take at least a month for the rainwater to recede. A stormwater drain network to carry surplus water from the lakes in Koladi and Ayanambakkam to the Cooum would solve the problem. Residents from Madhavaram, Kolathur and Retteri had to take a detour of several km as a portion of Cudappah Road, which serves as a vital link between Madhavaram and Ambattur, was washed away.
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Residents of Madhanangkuppam said the culvert constructed by the Highways Department to channel surplus course from the Korattur lake was damaged due to heavy rain. Water that flowed on the road swept a portion of it, making it difficult to cross the stretch.
In Tambaram, nearly 500 people were moved to safer locations. Due to incessant rains, water entered the houses of several families living in Periyar Samuthava Nagar and Annai Anjugam Nagar in Perungalathur.
(With inputs from
K. Manikandan)