CHENNAI : Eight centimetres of torrential rain between 8-30 a.m. and 5-30 p.m. on Friday, flooded roads, disrupted public transport, and threw life out of gear in the city.

The government advised schools to close down for the day, following the incessant rain that forced children to stay home.

The flooding in several areas revealed the unpreparedness of the civic agencies in managing floods and their impact in the metropolis.

Traffic in the city suffered heavily with vehicles reduced to a snail's pace because of the inundated roads. Traffic snarls were reported on most of the major roads, including Poonamallee High Road as well as Inner Ring Road.

The stretch from Retteri to Padi junction on Inner Ring Road, Second Avenue at Anna Nagar, Poonamallee High Road, Taylors Road and Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai were flooded with rainwater.

Stranded

Several vehicles were stranded on the roads, including Kilpauk and Nelson Manickam Road as rains lashed the city without let up during the day.

Choked drainage pipes and waterlogged roads due to clogged storm water drains were the order of the day across the city.

The rising water levels on interior roads posed a threat of water seepage into houses in several areas. Bhavani of Sixth Avenue at Anna Nagar said that water had begun to seep into some houses within a few hours of the rains.

With drains blocked in the area, residents were awaiting action after having complained to the Metrowater authorities.

A tree fell into a canal near the Labour Officers' quarters in Anna Nagar West, leading to inundation of the road.

Rainwater receded on Bank Street, Kilpauk only after a part of the storm water drain, which were clogged with plastic bags, was cleaned up by residents themselves.

Several apartments on Padi Kuppam Road were also faced the problem of clogged drains.

Yet to solve

Though the problem has been around for years, Ambattur municipal authorities were yet to solve the issue, a resident said.

Residents of Old Washermenpet said that two persons were injured when they fell off their bike on Pensioners' Street, 4th Lane, which was under knee-deep water.

AGS Staff Colony in western Velachery was one of the worst affected with water levels rising on the roads.

V. Rama Rao, former secretary of United Forum of Nanganallur. said that a subway in Thillaiganga Nagar at Nanganallur remained submerged for the second consecutive day. He complained that desilting of stormwater drains had been left unfinished leading to flooding in Nanganallur area.

Ineffectiveness

Deepening and raising bunds of Adambakkam Lake were also neglected, he added. Adambakkam was flooded with sullage due to the ineffectiveness of the pumping station in Nilamangai Nagar, said V. Kuppan of Exnora Innovators' Club.

K. Selvaraj, a resident of K.K. Nagar, said that R.K. Shanmugam Salai, Raja Mannar Salai and 14th Street in the Fourth Sector was under two feet of water.

Several roads in Valasaravakkam lay under water a foot deep, and residential areas such as Sree Lakshmi Nagar, AKR Nagar and Radha Nagar were completely inundated. Road taken up before the local body elections had to be suspended when the model code of conduct came into force.

Gravel and red mud dumped on some roads only made the roads more slippery and unsafe for motorists, said P.S. Srinivasan of the Valasai People's Association. He alleged that local body representatives had not taken sufficient measures to prevent waterlogging and that the storm water drains had not been cleared.

The western suburbs also had their share of problems apart from flooded roads. Several areas of Pattabiram went without power for hours.

The meteorological department has forecast intermittent rains, which may be heavy at times, on Saturday.

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