Heavy rain continues, Centre releases Rs 900 cr for Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Torrential rain battered several areas in Tamil Nadu on Monday which were just recovering from days of relentless flooding. The Centre released financial assistance of Rs 939.63 crore to assist in relief operations. According to the Home Ministry, the fund was sanctioned and released on instruction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in response to the state government’s request. [caption id=“attachment_2518414” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Chennai drenched/ Reuters[/caption] “A letter from the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu enclosing a detailed memorandum on flood damages was sent to the PMO… Tamil Nadu has sought urgent financial assistance from the Centre and has asked for a Central team to be deputed immediately to make an on-the-spot assessment of damages,” a Home Ministry release stated. Four districts of Chennai, Kanchipuram, Cuddalore, and Thiruvallur received incessant rain since around 4 p.m., leaving several areas inundated and giving residents a difficult time. The weather department has warned of isolated heavy rain over Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The district administrations in Chennai, Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur have declared a holiday for schools in those places. Downpours were reported from Cuddalore and Chidambaram areas as well. People returning from office had to undergo a lot of hardship, with many of them wading through knee deep water on the roads. In several places in Chennai, traffic was diverted owing to water-logging. “It is no more Singara (beautiful) Chennai. It is Saakadai (sewage) Chennai. Sewage water is threatening to enter my home through the toilet,” J. Nitya, a resident of Mylapore, told IANS. “In Triplicane (a neighbourhood of Chennai) the roads are under knee deep water,” Narasimhan, a resident and private sector employee, told IANS. Several vehicles got struck on the roads due to water ingress in Chennai. According to reports, the district administration in Kanchipuram warned people living in Madurantakam area to shift to safer places as the lake there was filling up fast and surplus water would be released. Four districts in Tamil Nadu - Cuddalore, Chennai, Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur - were flooded due to rain in the last few weeks. According to Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, 169 people have died in rain related incidents and 400,000 have been displaced. IANS