Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Chennai today to assess the impact of the torrential rain brought by Cyclone Michaung in Chennai and surrounding districts this week.
He landed in Chennai around noon. He did an aerial survey of the affected areas. Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan, Tamil Naduâs Minister for Finance and Human Resources Management Thangam Thennarasu and Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena accompanied Rajnath Singh in the survey.
After the survey, Rajnath Singh had a brief meeting with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at Fort St. George.
Meanwhile many prominent areas of Chennai are largely back to normal, waist-deep waterlogging continues in several low-lying areas. Authorities said the waters are receding and there has been significant improvement in the past 24 hours.
Nearly 400 boats have been tasked with rescuing people stuck in inundated areas. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other agencies are carrying out rescue work.
The showers have stopped but the flooding has turned lives topsy turvy. The 200-feet radial road connecting Pallavaram and Shollinganallur is out of bounds for the people. People are allowed to reach only Kamakshi Hospital but cannot travel further. At West Tambaram, people are still reeling as the water has entered the households.
Wading through the waterlogged streets, one can spot sewage-mixed rain water inside residences. While some people have vacated their residences, some others are still unable to come out and are awaiting help.
Chief Minister MK Stalin has said roads and bridges in Chennai have suffered extensive damage during the calamity. The situation has also led to loss of livelihood for lakhs of people, he has said.
He has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking funds of Rs 5,060 as an interim relief measure. Additional requests for funds will be made after proper assessment once the waters recede.