CHENNAI: Vehicular traffic at Ganesapuram subway near Vyasarpadi Jeeva railway station was suspended for more than 12 hours since Tuesday morning after heavy rain flooded the main entryway for thousands of motorists and MTC buses coming from Madhavaram, Erukkanchery and other northern parts into the city.However, the traffic, which was diverted from the subway due to waterlogging, was by and large managed through the Perambur Flyover and Vyasarpadi subway near Kalyanapuram.Mayor M Subramanian inspected the flooded subway in the morning and asked the Corporation officials to speed up the work to clear it to ensure normal traffic.Within hours, Municipal Administration Minister K P Munusamy, accompanied by Corporation Commissioner D Karthikeyan, also inspected the subway and ordered the civic body officials to increase the pace of the cleaning activity.The Minister’s site visit comes after an emergency meeting that was held at the Secretariat to review measures put in place by the civic agency to prevent flooding due to the incessant rains that started last night in the city.Motorists coming from different parts of North Chennai, like Vyasarpadi, Kodungaiyur, Erukanchery, Manali and MKB Nagar, use the Ganesapuram subway to reach other parts of the city. Besides, MTC buses also use the subway to reach MKB Nagar, Kodungaiyur and parts of Madhavaram.The waterlogging also forced MTC buses to be diverted through Ambedkar College Road and cross the railway tracks via Perambur flyover. A Corporation official who was monitoring the draining operation told City Express that the subway, which was flooded with above five-feet of rainwater since last night, has been drained using high-powered motors by the civic body. “We are maintaining a vigil at the subway since rainwater is still accumulating there and the heavy motor has been running continuously to clear any further water logging”, the official said.Chennai crawls as city gets waterloggedCHENNAI: While records from the Met Office provided hope of a good
monsoon with Chennai recording its wettest day since 2008 on Monday, the
metropolis turned hell for commuters the day after. Like many previous
years, it was water stagnation that caused more trouble than the showers
itself.On Monday, the city received its highest rainfall within 24
hours after 2008, with Nungambakkam receiving 45 mm and the airport
weather laboratory recording 58.4 mm. The numbers are considerably
higher compared to 2010 that had 43mm and around 35mm in 2009, according
to information provided by the Regional Meteorological Centre. As of
8.30 am on Tuesday, the Anna University weather station in the city
recorded the highest rainfall of 11 cms, followed closely by
Chengalpattu and Sriperumbadur which received 9 cms and Thiruvallur that
received 8 cms.These rains led to severe traffic clogging in
several arterial roads of the city, like Mount Road near Spencer Plaza,
LB Road in Adyar, Perambur and Koyembedu near the vegetable market. With
state government declaring a holiday for school children, office goers
had a tough time negotiating these roads, which were inundated and
caused traffic bottlenecks. Rains on Monday midnight led to a tree being
uprooted near the swimming pool by the Marina shoreline, while more
trees gave away on Tuesday in Egmore, Kilpauk, Royapettah, T Nagar and
Virugambakkam.Even as the skies cleared late on Tuesday afternoon,
Met officials said they expected more rains. The state had received 20
per cent excess rainfall in the week, official records revealed.City at its worstKoyambedu:The
night-long rain on Monday hit the vegetable and flower vendors of the
Koyambedu market hardest. Added to the narrow approach path that the
CMRL work has left vendors with, slush and stagnant water ensured that
load carrying vehicles could not enter the complex. The market complex
was also flooded on all sides. Most wholesalers were seen conducting
sales from the back of trucks opposite the private omni-bus terminus,
after which vendors left to their areas almost an hour late. This caused
added chaos during the 8-9 am peak hour rush at the 100-feet road
junction.Vyasarpadi:Heavy water logging was reported from
several arterial roads in Perambur, Vyasarpadi, Kodungaiyur and
Washermenpet. As Ganesapuram subway near Vyasarpadi Jeeva Railway
Station was flooded, buses and all other vehicles were diverted via
Perambur Flyover to reach different parts of the city and vice versa.Vadapalani:While
waterlogging was minimal along Arcot road, barring a couple of
low-lying areas outside Vijaya Hospitals, the heavy rain that came down
from 7.45 am again, ensured that most two-wheelers kept to the sides of
the road. Surprisingly, the rush hour traffic was much lower than usual,
with only cars seen on the road till the rain eased up.Kodambakkam:Despite
a constant downpour, there was literally no stagnant water along
Kodambakkam and the bridge was near-empty - an astonishing sight for
most office-goers who possibly ascended and descended looking for where
the customary 'jam' was. Traffic remained uniformly thin till the
Valluvar Kottam junction.Sterling Road:The corridor to
Nungambakkam was a nightmare with a heavy pool of water from the Railway
Colony till Good Shepherd Convent.This ensured that not only were
vehicles sticking to the right lane and avoiding the water like the
plague, it also meant students of the prestigious convent had to wait
till the vehicles parted the streams to rush across the road and enter
college.RK Salai and Alwarpet:Traffic remained constantly
heavy during the peak hour, despite the heavy rainfall. Water-logging
was scarcely seen across Gopalapuram, Lloyds road, Poes Garden nor on
TTK Road. The only place stagnant water wasseen was along Mandaveli high
road, but that was explained by working corporation men who said that a
storm-water drain had been blocked and would be unblocked "shortly".ThiruvanmiyurTraffic
was affected severely during the peak hours of Tuesday morning due to
water-logging in both the interior lanes and LB road in Thiruvanmiyur.
The auto stands bore a deserted look, as they were already taken and
were on the move.Kotturpuram: Train commuters had a tough
time getting to the Kotturpuram Railway Station on Tuesday, owing to
severe water-logging on the roads leading to it. Traffic was normal only
after efforts were made using high-powered pumps to drain out the
stagnant water.Madipakkam: The residential area of North
Ramnagar in Madipakkam was badly affected by water-logging, posing a
tough time for vehicles and pedestrians.
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