Tamil Nadu battered by heavy rains

Flights, train and bus services hit, half-yearly exams postponed

Heavy rains yesterday pounded several parts of Tamil Nadu, inundating most areas of Chennai, severely disrupting flights, train and bus services and forcing the postponement of half-yearly school exams as the state braced for more rain in next four days.

As the death toll in rainrelated incidents touched 188, Chief Minister Jayalalitha reviewed the situation and deputed ministers to inspect the affected regions.

Half-yearly exams in schools, which were scheduled to begin on December 7, were postponed. Schools were closed yesterday and will remain shut today.

Flight operations also took a hit due to the rain. Airport officials said one flight, which had left Colombo this morning, returned.

Twelve trains leaving Chennai Egmore were cancelled due to water flooding railway tracks in the Villupuram-Tambaram section. Also, 11 trains were diverted.

Inundated

Motorists had a tough time as not only arterial roads like Anna Salai and GST Road but also many interior roads were flooded.

Many roads were damaged, with several caving in, inconveniencing motorists.

Puducherry and its suburbs continued to be lashed by heavy rains, recording 15.2cm rain in the 24 hours ending 0830 hours yesterday.

The Met office has cautioned about more rain in the next four days across Tamil Nadu with some regions likely to witness heavy to very heavy rainfall.

Jayalalitha said police, fire and rescue, National and State Disaster Forces and Coast Guard have been kept ready for need-based evacuations of people from flooded regions.

She reviewed the situation in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore and Kanchipuram.

As a result of the rains, the Poondi, Cholavaram, Puzhal and Chembarambakkam reservoirs that feed Chennai have touched 83.8 per cent of their capacity.

Out of the 14,098 lakes under the Public Works Department in Tamil Nadu, 6,791 are full.