Chennai receives heavy northeast monsoon showers, Medavakkam records 10 cm rainfall

CHENNAI: With the onset of the northeast monsoon, Chennai recorded an average rainfall of up to 4 cm on Tuesday, with heavy showers reported in the southern parts of the city. Medavakkam received the highest rainfall at 10 cm, followed by Okkiyam Thoraipakkam (9 cm), Sholinganallur and Kannagi Nagar (8 cm each), Injambakkam (6 cm), and Ayapakkam (5 cm). Light showers were recorded in areas such as MGR Nagar, Ambattur, and Kolathur. Parts of the city witnessed water stagnation, including Gokilambal Nagar main road in Kannagi Nagar, Royapuram, GP Road in Mount Road, Royapettah High Road, Judge Jumbulingam Road in Mylapore, AGS Colony 3rd Main Road and 6th Cross Street in Velachery, and Dwaraga Nagar in Manali. A resident of AGS Colony told the TNIE that despite the construction of a stormwater drain in 2022-23 along the 3rd Main Road, it has failed to serve its purpose as water stagnation continues. The resident attributed this to the higher elevation of adjoining roads -- 8th & 6th cross street -- which leaves the 3rd Main Road at a lower level. The problem here is not the absence of drains but the lack of road correction. Since both adjoining roads are at a higher level, the drains too are elevated, leaving no outlet for water to drain from the lower section of the 3rd Main Road, the person said. In Kannagi Nagar, residents complained of sewage-mixed rainwater along Gokilambal Nagar main road, blaming poor desilting of stormwater drains. After some media coverage, officials cleared the water, but residents alleged that sewage sludge was dumped with an earthmover on nearby vacant land at Gokilambal Nagar 2nd cross street exit area, which is already facing stagnation. A 29-year-old resident said, Its good that officials cleared the affected area, but it should not come at the cost of burdening another locality that is already waterlogged. Now, the sewage sludge has mixed with the stagnant rainwater here, creating an unhygienic environment and posing health risks to our children. The downpour also exposed unfinished road works in Pallikaranai, where potholes filled with water along the Velachery-Tambaram Main Road caused slow traffic. Vidyasagar Jagadeesan (42), a civic activist, said road widening here had been stalled. For the past five years, the road has not been laid and now it is in a deplorable state with several potholes filled with rainwater. Traffic will be chaotic once schools reopen. The state highways department must act immediately, he said. Meanwhile, a resident of Royal Avenue, Third Street in Thoraipakkam, took to social media, stating that despite three days of continuous effort using a single water pump by the civic body, the water level in the area has not receded. The normal tractor-mounted pump couldnt clear the water even after operating for several hours. Floodwater from the adjacent golf village ground is also flowing into our street. A high-capacity pump is urgently needed to remove the stagnation, the resident said. Following several complaints from OMR residents on social media, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin inspected flood mitigation works in the citys southern region on Monday. He reviewed the free flow of water at the Okiyam Maduvu canal in Karapakkam, following the completion of widening and repair works at Rs 27 crore, as well as the desilting work of the canal near Kannagi Nagar. On Tuesday, he visited the cooking centre and relief shelter at Adyar zone, desilting and wall-raising works at Veerangal Odai, the six-vent canal, and other monsoon preparedness works across the citys southern region. Health Minister Ma Subramanian also inspected the stormwater drain desilting works in Saidapet constituency.