Ennore, Manali face flooding as heavy rains lash North Chennai
CHENNAI: Several areas in Ennore, Tiruvottiyur and Manali were inundated as heavy rains lashed the northern parts of the city, with Manali New Town recording 24cm, Ennore 21cm and Wimco Nagar 20cm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Thursday. The rains were triggered by the lingering remnant of Cyclone Ditwah, which had weakened into a well-marked, low-pressure area and moved inland across the northern Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast on Wednesday, before weakening further on Thursday. These neighbourhoods had been bearing the brunt of the spell since Tuesday, consistently logging heavy rainfall. Kathivakkam in Tiruvottiyur recorded 16cm, parts of Manali New Town 13cm, Manali 12cm, Tiruvottiyur 11cm and Tondiarpet 7cm. According to the Greater Chennai Corporation, the city received an average of 4.17cm of rainfall from 8.30 am on Wednesday to 5 am on Thursday, with Tiruvottiyur and Manali zones receiving the highest amounts. Sadaiyankuppam Burma Nagar is among the worst-affected areas where residents were seen wading through knee-deep water for work and also buying essential items. I tried going out on Thursday to the market, it was impossible. The government should remove the encroachments and create proper infrastructure as we face such water stagnation every year, said a resident on condition of anonymity. Autos, bikes and bicycles navigating the inundated Thana Street in Purasaiwalkam, Chennai, on Thursday | ashwin prasath Residents also added that almost all the places in Manali, including Periya Sekkadu, Chinna Sekkadu, Andar Kuppam, Ariyalur and Kanniyammanpettai, also faced inundation, especially after the water from Poondi and Puzhal reservoirs were also opened. Many localities in Ennore is inundated and water has entered many houses. Water entered our compound which has not happened for the last six years due to heavy rain and failure to desilt water channels. We have also raised a complaint with the corporation, however, we have not received any help so far, said a resident of Sathiyavani Muthu Nagar third street. Several places in Tiruvallur also received severe rains with Gummidipoondi registering 15cm, Uthukottai 11cm, Ponneri 10cm, Cholavaram 9cm, Red Hills, Thamaraipakkam, Avadi and Puzhal registering 7cm each. The district administration had deployed motors to remove water from Minjur Main Road and several places in Cholavaram, among others. Meanwhile, Health Minister M Subramanian inspected four ponds that were created to store water as a monsoon preparedness measure. Works to remove stagnant water from places like MKB Nagar using water pumps were also carried out by the corporation.
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