Chennai: Fort St. George, the seat of power of Tamil Nadu had withstood the December 2015 floods well. But the ancient fort built by the British bore the brunt of Cyclone Vardah on Monday. The corridors of power inside the Chief Secretariat were plunged in darkness with power supply being cut off in several blocks as transformers were shut down as a precautionary measure.
Except the main Assembly building, other blocks did not have power till late evening. The WiFi and satellite TV connections to various departments were also switched off. The Public Works Department workers and the police had a tough time clearing the fallen branches of avenue trees and the window panes which collapsed on breaking inside the secretariat premises.
"The entire secretariat witnessed only 20 per cent attendance and the others were instructed to remain at their homes. The major departments like the Revenue, Municipal administration, Fisheries, Public and Information department functioned," said a senior official who was part of the periodical review meeting conducted by Chief Minister O. Paneerselvam.
Chief secretary P. Rama Mohan Rao and Revenue Secretary Chandra Mohan took turns to coordinate with district collectors from the control rooms at the Secretariat.
Chief Minister O Paneerselvam was an early bird at the Secretariat. He arrived by 10 am and interacted with senior IAS officials on the measures being taken to handle the impact of Vardha.
He also discussed the traffic and water-logging situation with the police and the municipal administration officials. By and large, most of the department secretaries and state ministers remained at their residences, leaving the Secretariat deserted.
Earlier in the day, the drivers of ministers, Government officers, and other departments vied with each other in identifying safe parking places to station government vehicles.
