Traffic cops in fix as Commuters face a tough time to reach their destinations
Vehicles struggle to drive through the flooded road at Thirumangalam. (Photo: DC)
Chennai: As roads turned into rivers on Friday, traffic came to a complete standstill in various parts of the city, placing traffic police in a fix. With local train services hit as well, passengers were forced to take to the roads to get to their destinations but were stuck for hours as authorities tried to drain out the water.
The worst hit areas were in the north of Chennai, with water as high as 5 feet. Police said that they found it difficult to manage traffic in the morning. “Since it rained all night, water rose above the expected levels, so we had to make some one-way roads near Kilpauk two-way. We usually make it two-way after 11 in the night but since there was so much traffic congestion, we made it two-way between 11 am and 7 pm. By then we got 2 water tankers, 5 motors and 2 fire engines to drain out all the water. After that, traffic became more free flowing,” said Natarajan, inspector, Kilpauk Traffic Police.
The worst hit areas were Chennai Central, Mount Road, Poonamallee High Road, GST Road and parts of Tambaram. Police said they had to also employ additional enforcement to prevent traffic pile ups and ensure that traffic keeps moving even if it was slow paced.
While most roads cleared up as evening approached, traffic police authorities said that besides low lying areas like Nungambakkam, they managed to drain out water in most areas.
Rain-related deaths go up
A 55-year-old differently-abled man, Elumalai was found dead at Annasamy pillai lane junction on Walltax road on Friday. While earlier information revealed that the man had died in a road accident, further investigation revealed that Elumalai had actually drowned in rain water after being under the influence of alcohol. In another incident, a rickshaw puller, Chinnathambi (50), a resident of Ekambareswarar temple street succumbed to cold weather. In Tiruvanmiyur, the body of a a newborn baby wrapped in a cloth was found floating near the overflowing tank of Marundeeswarar temple.
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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