Chennai grapples with flood aftermath; long queues at ATMs, petrol pumps

Chennai: The flood-ravaged city was on Saturday struggling to return to normalcy with partial restoration of telecommunication and train services, besides many roads also becoming fairly motorable even as waterlogging woes continued in several areas.

The BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder reports from Chennai (Madras) that many people, particularly in working class neighbourhoods, say they have suffered huge losses and want the government to offer them financial assistance to help rebuild their lives.

At least a 120,000 people have been rescued from the floods that have covered parts of southern India. A total load of 7.5 tonnes has been airlifted by the helicopters.

Massive rescue and relief operations are underway across the state.

And how many have been impacted, and how many evacuated is still unclear as residents brace themselves for another few days of torrential rain.

Modi travelled to Tamil Nadu on Thursday to survey the damage from weeks of flooding that has killed 269 people.

Asserting that the situation continues to be grim in the coastal district of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh, Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday said the government is providing round the clock medical facilities and trying its best to help the people in this hour of crisis. The city has rallied together in the hard time and many volunteers have been aiding rescue efforts, she added.

A depression in the Bay of Bengal has triggered rains in coastal areas. “My vehicle has sunk and I had to move to the first floor of my apartment”.

The government restored some commercial flights to a naval air base near the city of six million, but the main airport remained closed and completely awash.

Auto factories that export around the world, however, stayed shut.

A steadily rising number of families sought safety on the Basion Bridge flyover, many slum-dwellers whose homes had been washed away. We have lots of food, we have volunteers ready to go, but we don’t have the boats. They sat in the open, carrying little bundles of prized possessions – soiled rupee notes and identity cards.

“We feel quite helpless”, said Malti Soman, standing in knee-deep water in Mambalam, a residential area in central Chennai.