The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Rain brings into focus `monsoon preparedness'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 25, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Rain brings into focus `monsoon preparedness'

Staff Reporter

The Corporation has geared up

SKY IS THE LIMIT: Now that the northeast monsoon has set in, the weather has turned inclement. So what! Nothing seems to stop these joy riders on Beach Road along the Marina in the city on Tuesday. — PHOTO: M. VEDHAN

CHENNAI : A trough of low pressure over southwest bay of Tamil Nadu brought showers to the city on Tuesday, bringing issues of monsoon preparedness into focus.

Both Meenambakkam and Nungambakkam, measuring points of the city, recorded 4.5 cm of rain in the 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday. Tambaram, a southern suburb, received 7 cm in the same period.

With the northeast monsoon active over the State, Chennai has been experiencing showers for a few days now and the first rain casualty was recorded in the neighbouring Tiruvallur district. Rakkiappan, 56, of Padayancheri village near the temple town of Periyapalayam died after the wall of his home collapsed in the afternoon. Several makeshift shops, which mushroomed on roadsides, have been doing a roaring business by selling raincoats and umbrellas. The rain on Monday has left interior roads mushy in several areas. The Weather Department forecast a generally cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain or thundershower on Wednesday.

Good inflow

The city reservoirs also received reasonable inflow that increased the storage.

A Metrowater official said that there was a total increase of 44 million cubic feet of water in the three reservoirs on Monday thanks to the rain and the water released from the Kandaleru reservoir in Andhra Pradesh. This would be equal to two days of drinking water supply at the present rate of 650 million litres of water per day.

The Poondi reservoir has realised 2.6 thousand million cubic feet of water so far from the Kandaleru reservoir. The reservoir at Chembarambakkam received 3 cm of rain and Poondi, Red Hills reservoirs received 2 cm each.

The official said there was enough spare capacity of about six tmc in all reservoirs to store rainwater this season. The importance of maintaining rainwater harvesting structures to reap benefits of rains was also stressed. The Corporation has geared up to tackle problems that rains would throw up.

A Corporation official said that the stormwater drains in the city have been desilted to carry flood water. Corporation staff were also prepared to pump out the stagnant water on roads and subways and remove uprooted trees.

The low-lying areas, which were flood-prone, have already been identified as part of flood prevention measures.

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