CM Jayalalithaa takes stock of flood-hit areas in Chennai

“The Government of India will stay with the people of Tamil Nadu in this hour of need, ” he said after the survey in which he was accompanied by Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, who hails from Tamil Nadu.

India’s weather office has predicted more rains in Tamil Nadu this week, which could prolong the Manali refinery shutdown and disrupt fuel supplies. “It is not an exaggeration to say that Chennai has turned into an island”, Singh said.

In a letter to Jayalalithaa, the Bihar CM expressed confidence that the southern state would overcome the grief in her able guidance and leadership.

The extreme weather in Chennai comes as heads of state are meeting in Paris to try and work out a new treaty to limit global warming and deal with its effects.

According to the Times of India, the death toll for rain-related incidents in Tamil Nadu since October stands at 188.

Army, Air Force and Navy personnel have joined teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and state government agencies and voluntary agencies in rescuing the affected people in different parts of the city and other districts. Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force has converted the INS Rajali naval airbase in Arakonam in Vellore district into a temporary airport as the Chennai airport runway is flooded and closed till December 6. The water level has been rising in various parts of the city. “People are marooned all over”, Tamil Nadu lawmaker Kanimozhi, who uses one name, told the national parliament.

The Southern Railway also cancelled all inter and intra-state train services till Saturday while the airport operations remain suspended till Sunday.

Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he himself had spoken to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister while he also spoke to Andhra Pradesh as well as Puducherry Chief Ministers.

The Army column located at Guduvancheri and Urupakkam have rescued over 600 marooned people in Waigai Nagar and Priya Nagar.

Chennai saw only slight rains on Thursday, but water levels had not receded since Wednesday morning, when a massive release of water from a brimming reservoir swamped low-lying areas of the city.

Chennai has been battling heavy rains since early November due to a low pressure area over southwest Bay of Bengal.

“The mobile telephony industry has proposed and ensured that steps are taken by introducing some special concessions and services in terms of talk-time/data/tariff so that the people are not deprived of much needed communication facilities”, he added.