City Police Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal has asked the Deputy Commissioners of Police, Ambattur and St.Thomas Mount, to be ready to handle any emergency and ensure that there will be no law and order issue if water has to be discharged from the Chembarambakkam lake.
In a note, Mr. Aggarwal said, “The water level in Chembarambakkam, located in the Kundrathur police station limits, touched 20.16 feet on Sunday evening. As the level is likely to reach 22 feet, there is a chance of surplus water release from the lake at any time. When the surplus water is released on the Adyar, it may affect people living on the banks at Thiruneermalai, Kundrathur, Vazhuthalambedu, Natham, Thirumudivakkam, Sirukalathur, Manappakkam and other places.”
M.S. Jaffar Sait, Director-General of Police, Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services, said control rooms with additional personnel would function round the clock in Chennai and other districts.
The personnel are in a state of preparedness with emergency equipment, including motor boats, life jackets, ropes to rescue marooned people and animals and motors for pumping out water. Additional measures are in place in the flood-prone areas that have been identified based on the experience of the previous years. Personnel have been provided with electric saws to remove fallen trees. As many as 620 volunteers trained in rescue operations have been kept ready.
“As the Chembarambakkam lake is going to reach its full capacity owing to a continuous inflow, water may be released from the lake. To handle such circumstances, men from the commando team with rubber boats, ropes and rescue equipment are stationed at the Egmore and Tambaram fire stations,” Mr. Sait said.
Public may contact the control room at 101 or dial 9445086080 in case of being stranded in rains and flooding. Rescue teams will be sent out immediately.
