Chennai residents suffer drinking water shortage

Chennai, Dec 5: An intermittent light drizzle since the morning on Saturday has added to the worries of Chennai residents who are battling the worst floods in a century amid shortage of drinking water and power cuts.

Chennai and its suburbs were battered by record rains for the past one month, leaving at least 325 people dead.

Unlike some areas such as Mylapore, Adyar and Annasalai where the water level has receded and electricity supply has been partially restored, people in many pockets in north Chennai continued to remain cut-off.

"Rumours of surplus water being released are also a cause of serious worry," Revathi Vasan, a resident of West Mambalam, told IANS.

She said power supply has not been restored in her locality while their is water- logging around her apartment complex and on the roads.

Lakshman, a resident of Adyar, told IANS: "Milk was available at the shop near our apartment. It was sold at the normal price. But water cans have become very costly."

In several localities, apartment owners pumped out stagnant water through hired pumps.

Southern Railway on Saturday announced operation of a special train from Chennai Beach Station to Bengaluru. The train will leave Chennai Beach at 4.30 p.m on Saturday.

A special train will be operated from Bengaluru to Chennai Beach Station on December 6.

Suburban train services between Chennai Egmore - Tambaram have commenced.

Fish carts and two wheelers were the mode of transport for patients to reach hospitals during the past three days, said an official.

N. Sathyabhama, director of medical services and quality-southern region at Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd., said the hospital also received patients from several other hospitals affected by floods and power cuts.

"Some patients came by fish cart. One was brought by her brother on the bike as that was the only means of navigation through the heavily flooded Greams Lane (where the hospital is located)," Sathyabhama told IANS.

She said there was no power supply for 57 hours in one block and 69 hours in another and the situation was managed with generators.

As a safety measure the electricity power was cut for a couple of days in Chennai and its suburbs.

Many household items such as plastic chairs and tables, beds and TVs have been washed out to the shore of the Adyar river and are being collected by rag-pickers.

The government Royapettah Hospital and Sri Ramachandra Hospitals also got patients from the hospitals affected by flood and power cut.

Royapettah Hospital got 23 patients from other hospitals in flood affected areas, a senior official at the hospital told IANS.

IANS