In Pictures: Parts of Chennai Face Neglect and Flooding

The capital city of Chennai received heavy rainfall due to the severe cyclonic storm Nivar on November 25 and 26. The rains left many parts of the city under water, exposing the lack of an effective drainage system.

While the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and government machinery succeeded in clearing stagnant water and fallen trees in the heart of the city, north Chennai remained highly neglected.

The authorities were barely visible in such areas even as people faced the huge task of sheltering themselves from the impact of the cyclone. Localities in the area are home to a vast population of socially and economically backward people.

A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India report had called the 2015 Chennai floods a man-made disaster. The Adyar River, into which water from the Chembarambakkam Lake was diverted, awaits de-silting even now. Major canals across the city are filled with silt, some of which have even been encroached by government and private organisations, say environmental activists.

Photo Credit: Lakshmi Kanth Bharathi

The above picture is of an elderly couple in the small shed they call home in Arunthathiyar Nagar, Perambur. The area saw stagnant water and the elderly couple, housing a stray dog rescued in the floods, were having a tough time as there were no immediate steps taken by the authorities to clear the mess.

Even after the rains stopped, there was stagnant water for several hours in most parts of the city. The above picture is of people walking through three-feet deep water in the Pattalam area, which also houses a marketplace.

Photo Credit: Lakshmi Kanth Bharathi

In the event of a disaster, like excessive rainfall, government schools are the first to be converted into relief camps. However, the Chennai High School, seen in the picture above, was inundated with rain water, making it difficult to access.

Photo Credit: Lakshmi Kanth Bharathi

A Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) building, which was under construction close to a river at Kargil Nagar in Thiruvottiyur, is seen surrounded by flood water. The board has been entrusted with building houses for the people living in make-shift houses near the river bank. However, the board itself has been accused of constructing huge buildings near water bodies.

Photo Credit: Akhila Easwaran

A scene from Tana Street, Purasawalkam, in Chennai. A man was seen removing the water from inside his home, out onto a street which is already under two feet of rain water.

Photo Credit: Akhila Easwaran

People were seen wading through the rain water which had stagnated on Angalamman Koil Street in Pattalam.

Photo Credit: Jaffar Hussain

In the picture above, a group of boys were using a boat made out of fibre to navigate the Captain Cotton Canal near MKB Nagar. Major canals in the region have been awaiting de-silting work for long, making the residents of the banks vulnerable to flood waters.

Photo Credit: Lakshmi Kanth Bharathi

Here is another waterlogged street in Kargil Nagar, Thiruvottiyur. The lack of drainage systems and storm water drains were visible in the city, which witnessed waterlogging for several hours.