India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 06, 2009
Rain leaves several parts reeling
Four reservoirs get good inflow thanks to downpour in catchment areas
— Photo: A.Muralitharan
WATCH YOUR STEPS: The slushy Guduvanchery Bus terminus near
Tambaram.
—
CHENNAI: Several parts
of the city reeled under the
impact of monsoon showers
on Thursday as many roads
were waterlogged, rush-hour
traffic was thrown out of gear
and the capacity of the
stormwater drains proved just
about enough.
But residents seemed to take
the problems in their stride
mainly on account of the fact
that it did not rain after
around 10 a.m.. The
inundation was due to a
copious downpour which
began the previous night.
The Meteorological
Department observatory in
Nungambakkam recorded
150 mm rainfall during the
24-hour period ending 8.30
a.m. on Thursday. Its
observatory in
Meenambakkam received
113 mm of rainfall.
This was the second-highest
rainfall received in
Nungambakkam during 24
hours since 2000. The city
had recorded 160.1 mm of
rainfall in a single day in
2002, the officials said.
However, the rainfall
recorded at the observatories
during the 12-hour ending
8.30 p.m. on Thursday was
only 0.4 mm and 5.3 mm
respectively.
According to the department
officials, the city is set to
receive more showers as the
trough of low pressure lying
over southwest Bay of
Bengal off the Tamil Nadu
and Sri Lanka coast now
extends from Cape Comorin
area to West Central Bay
across Sri Lanka and off the
Tamil Nadu coast and south
coastal Andhra Pradesh.
For Friday, they forecast a
few spells of shower or
thundershowers, which can
be heavy in some places.
On Thursday, many areas,
particularly in north Chennai,
were affected because of the
incessant rain. Vehicular
movement was affected in
Perambur, Vysarpadi and
Tondiarpet. Residents said
the Ganesapuram Subway in
Vysarpadi was inundated,
blocking traffic for a few
hours in the morning.
Mayor M.Subramanian, who
visited the area, said that
continuous pumping helped
in draining out the water. He
said that residents could call
1913 helpline of the Chennai
Corporation to lodge
complaints about water
stagnation.
Metropolitan Transport
Corporation bus depots in
Vadapalani, T.Nagar and
Anna Nagar were flooded,
causing inconvenience to
commuters.
In the southern suburbs,
Tambaram recorded a rainfall
of 91.6 mm till 6 a.m. on
Thursday. At the
Guduvanchery bus terminus,
commuters had to wade
through thick layers of slush.
Though Rs.1 crore was spent
a few years ago towards
improving the facility, it is
almost back to its old shape.
Guduvanchery town
panchayat authorities filled
up potholes with debris.
Though the Tambaram
subway got flooded because
of the sharp showers,
motorists were able to use it
due to continuous pumping.
Considerable inflow The
four reservoirs received
considerable inflow
following heavy rains in the
catchment areas. The
waterbody in
Chembarambakkam received
the highest inflow of 1,620
cubic feet per second because
of 125 mm of rainfall till 6
a.m. on Thursday. While
Cholavaram received 70 mm
of rainfall, the reservoirs in
Red Hills and Poondi
recorded 49 mm and 30 mm
of showers respectively.
Chennai Metrowater
officials said the
reservoirs received an
additional storage of 148
million cubic feet (mcft)
on Thursday, which
meant one week of daily
water supply.