Chennai rain: Two minor girls electrocuted after stepping on naked wire; three electricity board officials suspended

Three electricity board officials in Chennai were suspended on Wednesday following the death of two minor girls who were electrocuted in Kodungaiyur area, according to media reports.

#BREAKING -- Three electricity board officials have been suspended after 2 children were electrocuted in Chennai | @nimumurali with details pic.twitter.com/3ubwmVQH1L

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 1, 2017

The two girls, aged 7 and 8, died after stepping on a snapped electric wire lying under water, ANI reported.  [caption id=“attachment_4187307” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of a flooded street in Chennai. PTI[/caption] In another incident, two students died in Anakaputhur area on Monday night after being struck by lightning while they were on their terrace, reported  The Times of India. The deceased, Lokesh, (19) and his friend, Kishore, (17), had met to study together when the incident happened. Until Wednesday morning, five people had reportedly died in the state due to heavy rainfall even as the government declared a holiday in schools across Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts for the second consecutive day. Chennai as well as other parts of Tamil Nadu have been lashed by heavy rains since the last three days.  The weather department has predicted rain or thundershowers at most places over coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and at many places over interior Tamil Nadu for the next four days. Speaking to   Firstpost , S Balachandran, Director of the Area Cyclone Warning Centre, IMD Chennai, on Tuesday said, “Coastal areas and central regions of Tamil Nadu will experience heavy rainfall with varying intensities in the next 24 hours. However, the western parts of the state like Coimbatore, the Nilgiris and Valaparai will experience light rainfall, which will start from Tuesday evening.” Chennai’s northern areas,  Vyasarpadi, Perambur, Choolai and Otteri in North Chennai as well as West Anna Nagar in Central Chennai were inundated by water, according to the Deccan Chronicle. Among the southern parts of the city,  Madipakkam and Keelkattalai were affected by the rains. On Tuesday, Nungambakkam weather station recorded 12 cm rainfall while Meenambakkam Airport 17 cm. However, the government assured the citizens that it was prepared to control floods. SP Velumani, minister for municipal administration and rural development, told News18, “We have taken better steps than US or UK to control floods. Recently, heavy rains lashed London and America, but I assure we’ve done more work compared to these developed nations.”   While Chennai stares in the face of flooding, the heavy rains could help address water concerns in the city. Catchment areas of Chennai’s reservoirs, including the Poondi lake, Cholavaram lake, Redhills lake and Chembarapakkam lake, which provide drinking water to the city have been filled up with water, The Hindustan Times reported. With inputs from agencies