Tamil Nadu has declared a holiday for educational institutions and issued an advisory for IT companies to allow work from home
Tamil Nadu Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, Minister PK Sekar Babu, and Chennai Mayor Priya Rajan inspected Cooum River near Napier Bridge in Chennai on October 15.
The capital cities of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Karnataka bore the brunt of heavy rains, which led to waterlogging and traffic chaos on October 15.
Many areas in Chennai and its suburbs have been getting rain since previous night. Koyambedu, Guindy, Velachery, Madipakkam and other low-lying areas in the Tamil Nadu capital were water logged, causing inconvenience to residents. In Velachery, several residents were forced to park vehicles on flyovers.
Greater Chennai Corporation officials said they had deployed 990 water pumps, 57 tractors equipped with pump sets and 36 mechanised boats for emergencies. Around 170 fully equipped relief centres are also operational.
Deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin inspected the Narayanapuram Lake Bank and Ambedkar Road canals.
While civic authorities claimed there was no water logging in subways, several areas of Chennai were inundated. 12 flights at Chennai airport have been cancelled due to low passenger turnout. However, officials said that there have been no delays or diversions of flights related to rain so far.
A day earlier, the government had asked schools and colleges in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, and Chengalpattu districts to declare October 15 a holiday following the meteorological department’s forecast of heavy rain. IT companies in the four districts were asked to allow employees to work from home from October 15 to 18.
Heavy rains hit Bengaluru
In Bengaluru, overnight heavy rainfall left office-goers and students stranded in the morning. The meteorological department has forecast moderate rains in the city till October 17.
Water logging was reported on Sarjapur Road, Kasthuri Nagar bridge, Swamy Vivekananda Road, Ramamurthy Nagar, Sankey Road, Gundopanth Street, Hennur-Bagalur Main Road, Ganganagar, Vibgyor School Road, and Sulthanpet Main Road of the capital city of Karanataka. Heavy traffic congestion was reported from Tumakuru Road, Mysuru Road, Hebbal, Outer Ring Road, Airport Road and other areas.
Many commuters blamed the local civic body’s poor rain preparedness for waterlogging. There were also complaints of surge pricing by app-based ride-hailing platforms.
BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath has directed civic officials to stay prepared as continuous rains hit the city. During a virtual meeting, he urged them to take precautions, especially in flood-prone areas, and to ensure that residents are moved to safety if needed. “Citizens can call the corporation helpline (1533) to report rain-related issues,” he said.
A well-marked low-pressure area over the central part of the South Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a depression, moving west-northwestwards toward the coasts of north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh over the next two days, the India Meteorological Department posted on the X platform.
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