CHENNAI : Industries in Thiruvottiyur, Manali and Ennore Industrial area are yet to recover from the flooding due to the heavy rain three days ago.

This is the situation: some factories are still pumping out the water using generators; the Thiruvottiyur-Manali highway and several link roads to industrial units in the area are a nightmare for commuters, with yawning potholes only getting worse because of the unceasing heavy vehicle traffic.

Several big industries, including the Madras Fertilisers Limited, Chennai Petrochemical Corporation Limited, Ashok Leyland and EID Parry, are located in this belt.

"Water entered some industrial plants hampering regular operations," an employee of a private firm said.

On December 19, the rain disrupted traffic on the Manali-Thiruvottiyur route. Only lorries were allowed on the route and other vehicles were diverted till noon on December 20.

The poor attendance has also hit operations in the industrial units. Apart from the losses to industry, residents living in the area have also been affected. Fishermen living in kuppams near Ennore panicked when sea water rushed into their huts. The affected areas were Annai Sivakami Street, Ernavoor kuppam and Indra Gandhi kuppam. "After improvement in weather conditions, we feel more secure," Chandra, a fisherwoman said. With the let-up in rains, the discharge from Red Hills and Chembarambakkam reservoirs has stopped, bringing relief to villages including Samiyar Matam, Vadaperumbakkam and Vadakarai along the Red Hills surplus canal.

Much of the water has also drained from Kundrathur, which was flooded by water release from Chembarambakkam.

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