Air services resume at Chennai airport, rehabilitation of flood-affected citizens continues

Chennai: After two relatively rain-free days, Chennai and its suburbs today received showers in the morning but normal life was not affected even as air services began operating in full swing. Different parts of Chennai saw light showers in the morning while the the weather office had forecast cloudy skies with occasional spells of rain in the city. The focus in the city and its neighbourhoods continued on rehabilitation of affected citizens even as more volunteers, including actors like R Parthipan, Arya and Karthi, and NGOs joined the efforts, mainly taking care of supply of food and water. [caption id=“attachment_2538932” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  PTI[/caption] The state government said a dedicated cell at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here was receiving aid meant for flood victims. Those willing to help people could deposit the aid there and these would be distributed by officials of the Corporation of Chennai, who have already undertaken the work, it said. Meanwhile, air services at the airport here resumed in full swing with domestic and international flights being operated as per schedule, officials said. However, inclement weather for a while forced diversion of two flights, both private carriers, from Mumbai and Kolkata and a cargo service, to Bengaluru, they added. Further, after a week where the deluge completely paralysed operations, restaurants and other eateries inside the airport were opened today, officials said. Meanwhile, delta districts continued to receive copious rainfall, with Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam topping the list with 22 CM, according to rainfall statistics available till 8.30 AM. Other delta districts like Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Pudukottai also received good rainfall, the weather office said. DMK President M Karunanidhi today visited flood-affected areas in Chennai, including Saidapet. PTI