Chennai: Some of Chennai’s biggest IT parks have now lost power or are running short on supplies, including food and water. The areas of Velacherry and Thiruvanmiyur - home to at least six large tech complexes remains submerged and on Wednesday, police were seen asking people to stop using cars, unless absolutely necessary.
A large number of vehicles simply failed or died due to water-logged engines. IT buildings, including the massive Tidel Park — home to at least half a dozen companies - along the Rajiv Gandhi Salai are now virtually inaccessible by road with social media filled with warnings asking people to stay away.
Another problem is the lack of any supplies. “Most of the food courts here are just branches of city restaurants. The minute they saw reduction of food supplies, they shut down. There’s now no option... it’s go home/stay home,” said IT staffer Santosh who works near the city’s Madhya Kailash - an area which even saw a road cave in.
Meanwhile, information technology giants including Tata Consult-ancy Services, have moved employees to offices out of Chennai. Images of inundated offices flooded social media on Thursday and there are reports claiming a few TCS staff have been mobilised to the IT firm's Pune offices to continue work on projects. In a statement the company said that its offices in Chennai are also shut today and “the strong business continuity plans ensure that there is no impact on business.”
Other information technology parks are facing similar troubles. In a statement, industry major Infosys said they were closing the campuses as a “precautionary measure”.“The flooding at the Mahindra City campus has been caused by some neighbouring lakes overflowing following the incessant rain,” the statement read. “At Infosys, the safety of our employees is of utmost priority and we have made transport arrangements to get staffers home safely.”
Another victim is IIT-Chennai, which is now completely without power. According to reports, there’s considerable flooding within the facility.
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