The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Rain brings relief, woes in its wake

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 22, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Rain brings relief, woes in its wake

K. Lakshmi

Storm water drains were blocked with silt

ROAD BLOCK: A large tree fell across Bharati Salai in Zam Bazaar, Triplicane, due to overnight rain on Thursday.

CHENNAI: Summer showers on Wednesday night brought hope to worried residents. The hard spell flooded roads, felled a dozen trees and led to power shutdowns in different parts of the city.

The meteorological department recorded rainfall of 6 cm in Nungambakkam and 4 cm in Meenambakkam until 8.30 a.m. on Thursday. The short spell of rain on Tuesday had cooled down day temperatures in the city and the heavy showers on the following night brought in some respite to the water-starved city.

Ten trees were uprooted in various parts of the city, including Abhiramapuram, Poes Garden, Nungambakkam High Road, Cenotaph Road, and Saligramam due to the rain, officials said. Two trees were uprooted in Anna Nagar (21st Street and 18th Avenue).

The Corporation officials cleared the uprooted trees to facilitate flow of traffic. On the busy Bharati Salai, Triplicane, a massive tree, which fell across the carriageway, was chopped and carted away by locals. There was water logging on most city roads as the storm water drains were blocked with silt. Motorists in Anna Nagar East had a tough time negotiating the stretches recently dug up for various projects. Roads turned slushy in many areas including Ambattur, Kolathur and Velachery and also Kamarajar Salai and Santhome High Road.

Residents of West Mambalam, especially Ram Colony, experienced a power shutdown from the early hours of Thursday morning. In Ashok Nagar, K.K. Nagar and Perungalathur residents were annoyed that they were without power supply nearly for the entire night on Wednesday.

The city reservoirs also received rain but it did not make any difference to the water level. While the catchment areas of Poondi, Cholavaram and Red Hills had 2 cm of rainfall, the Chembarambakkam reservoir recorded 5 cm of rainfall.

The weather office said the rain was due to thundercloud activity in the city. Only those areas abutting Kerala and Karnataka will get good rain. The other parts of the State, including Chennai, depend on thunderstorm, which is a daily phenomenon and cannot be predicted long term, said a meteorological official. The department forecasts the possibility of showers in some areas of the city during the next 24 hours.

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