- Chennai airport closed till 6 December
- Worst continuous rainstorms in 100 years
- 15 teams of National Disaster Response Force in Chennai
- More rain expected, next 48 hours crucial
- Adyar river in spate, 35,000 cusecs discharged
- TN Chief Secretary has told Centre that the state has "enough medicines, food, drinking water"
- The Centre has released Rs 900 crore to TN for "flood relief". Tamil Nadu says Rs 500 crore of this is pending because of the "unfair devolution" by 14th Finance Commission, the rest has been pending for a year.
Tamil Nadu's worst and most relentless rainstorm in a 100 years is showing no signs of letting up. Life in capital Chennai ground to a complete halt as a fresh wave of rain lashed the city where 15 teams of the National Disaster Response Force have arrived. Industry lobbies are putting a Rs.15,000 crore figure on the expected financial loss as weather forecasting agencies predict heavy rain to continue for at least the next two days.
Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi directed senior officers of the disaster management division to stay in constant touch with the state government to provide any assistance necessary.
Soldiers joined the rescue and relief work and more troops were on their way from Bengaluru to Chennai, the sprawling southern metropolis with over 4.6 million residents.
The unprecedented rains, the worst in 100 years, have battered Tamil Nadu's northern districts such as Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram and Cuddalore, the toll has crossed 190.
City marooned, comes to standstill
All modes of transport — air, road and rail services — remained suspended due to the unprecedented deluge, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at the airport and various rail terminals. Suburban rail services also remained suspended.
The Chennai international airport will remain shut till December 6, said Airports Authority of India on Wednesday after the runway was flooded.
The AAI decision follows a prediction by the IMD that there will be rain for the next 72 hours in Chennai and its suburbs, with the next 48 hours being “very crucial.”
AAI chairman R K Srivastava told reporters that nearly 1,500 passengers had been evacuated from the airport. A total of 3,500 people, including passengers and staffers, were stranded at the airport on Wednesday morning, he added. He said that 33-35 aircraft have been grounded and 119 flights cancelled since 8pm on Tuesday due to the calamity.
Meanwhile, Arakkonam, Tirupati, Tambaram and Trichy airfields will be utilised for rescue and relief operations.
The Southern Railway cancelled 13 trains out of Egmore station and four trains from Chennai Central. Ten trains from other stations too were axed, reported IANS.
With schools and colleges shut, and vast areas under water, most buses went off the roads and suburban train services were suspended. Auto-rickshaws and taxis plied in some parts of Chennai but the operators fleeced commuters. A taxi driver reportedly charged Rs 4,500 to ferry three people from the airport to a hotel. Left with no option to proceed to their destinations, many people were seen walking on the railway track even as water was rushing below with brute force.
A college graduate has hurriedly put together a website chennairains.org which offers information on shelter, food and important contact details of authorities, all categorised by localities. Those in areas largely unaffected by the deluge have offered their homes, hotels and rooms for shelter, while others advertise the number of people they can feed.
Public holiday declared
Several private establishments declared a holiday. The government on Wednesday issued an advisory to private sector undertakings to allow their employees to take leave or permit them to work from home on Thursday and Friday.
The Hindu and Business Standard newspapers did not come out on Wednesday due to heavy rains. The Hindu will be published on Thursday, a newspaper employee said.
No electricity, phonelines, ATMS down
Phone network---both mobile and fixed lines--were out of service even as ATMs did not function. Even in the few ATMs that were open, serpentine queues were witnessed and people stocked up on supplies in the wake of more rains being forecast for the coming days.
Telecom service providers and mobile payment solutions providers have come up with free mobile recharges to help residents stay connected.
Rescue operations by Army, Navy and Centre
While the Army and Air Force were involved in rescue work and distribution of food packets at suburban Tambaram and Oorapakkam, ships of the Navy and Coast Guard were on standby, officials said. Expert Naval divers and inflatable boats were deployed at Adyar and Kotturpuram areas to help marooned citizens.
Alok Bhatnagar, Naval officer in charge, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, said ships — INS Airawat and other amphibian vessels would arrive here tonight. The Navy was also ready with medical supplies, he said. Seven boats had already been deployed for rescue work, while shelters were ready to accommodate 200 people.
The Indian Coast Guard has shifted over 150 marooned people in Chennai, and over 1,000 people stranded at different locations were provided with food cooked on board Coast Guard ships.
The government said 72,119 people were housed in 432 relief camps, but thousands of passengers were still stranded at the Chennai airport and railway stations.
Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said in New Delhi that the situation was "unheard of and unprecedented", and promised all help to the beleaguered city and other areas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who spoke to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa last night and promised all assistance, held discussions with his cabinet colleagues Rajnath Singh (Home), Arun Jaitley (Finance) and M Venkaiah Naidu (Parliamentary Affairs) in the morning to take stock of the situation.
The National Crisis Management Committee headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha reviewed the situation and assured the state of all support from the centre.
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