Hyderabad: 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 Thiruv-anmiyur — 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, IT giants including Tata Consultancy Services, have moved employees to offices out of Chennai. Images of inundated offices flooded social media on Wednesday and there are reports claiming a few TCS staff have been mobilised to the IT firm’s Pune offices to continue work on projects.
Other IT parks are facing similar troubles. In a statement, IT major Infosys said they were closing the campuses as a “precautionary measure”. “The flooding at the Mahindra City campus has been caused by some neighboring lakes overflowing following the incessant rain,” the statement read.
