There is no doubt that the northeast monsoon has arrived with the city receiving heavy rainfall in bursts from Monday night and all through Tuesday.
While some traditional flood-prone areas, particularly G.N. Chetty Road in T. Nagar, West Mambalam and Velachery, remained inundation-free, some others, including General Patters Road off Anna Salai, were flooded after the showers. There was no indication that the water would clear by itself. Stagnated and flooded roads are dangerous to commute both on foot and by vehicle as potholes and other hurdles are submerged and hidden. Additionally, wading through the dirty water is likely to cause waterborne diseases.
Areas such as Taramani, Velayutham Street in Pudupet, Pathro Salar in K.K. Nagar, Sivaji Nagar and Poompuhar Nagar experienced flooding. Residents said despite the presence of stormwater drains on Ashok Nagar 9th Avenue, the area was inundated.
A.S. Sudarshan, a resident of Kolathur 2nd Main Road, complained of waterlogging because of the absence of stormwater drains. Residents of Secretariat Colony in Thoraipakkam found it difficult to walk because the areas where stormwater drain construction had happened had become slushy.
At the corner of P.S. Sivasami Street in Mylapore, where the road had deteriorated due to multiple civic projects, waterlogging was acute, forcing both pedestrians and motorists to take detours. A similar situation prevailed across the entire length of Strahans Road in Purasawalkam. Vasu Street in Kilpauk, Gengu Reddy Road in Egmore, Gangadeeswarar Koil Street in Purasawalkam, Thiru Vi Ka 2nd and 3rd streets in Mylapore and Santhyanarayana Avenue and Boat Club 1st Avenue in R.A. Puram all experienced moderate to heavy waterlogging.
On the other hand, the Greater Chennai Corporation has received praise from the residents of West Mambalam and West Velachery for its efforts to alleviate flooding in the localities.
The streets of A.G.S. Colony and Kalki Nagar in West Velachery are usually prone to water stagnation during the monsoon season. This prompted the civic body to install heavy-duty pumps on Inner Ring Road, near the Velachery MRTS station, to pump water into Veerangal Odai.
Geetha Ganesh, a resident welfare activist of A.G.S. Colony, thanked the civic body for an inundation-free monsoon and complimented the linking of the stormwater drain network and proper desilting works at several places.
A stretch of Dr. Nair road, which sees heavy vehicular movement, was heavily waterlogged following the rain on Monday night. Civic officials visited the spot on Tuesday to address the issue even as light showers continued in the area.
