News Tamil Nadu

“Is This What You Called Vidiyal?”: Stranded Citizens Question TN CM Stalin In The Aftermath Of The Cyclone Michaung Flooding

December 6, 2023
The Commune

Growing dissatisfaction with the leadership of MK Stalin and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government is becoming more apparent; this was starkly visible, especially after the failure of the government to handle the aftermath of Cyclone Michaung. 

As water engulfed every part of the capital city Chennai and its suburbs, citizens are expressing frustration over the inadequate availability of resources and assistance during this crisis.

In one such instance, a group of people was seen stopping the vehicle that Stalin was travelling in overseeing the flood-affected areas. They asked him, “We have heard about something called vidiyal, but we are not even able to set foot inside our own homes. Is this what you said was vidiyal?” 

In other parts of the city such as Kilpauk, families of police officials have been suffering from the floods. Here an aggrieved family member says, “We do not have power for over a day. We also do not have access to drinking water or food. There is no solution to this problem. There is no one to take care of the police department. All top officials live here but the water is still stagnant here. Who will take care of the families of the police? We want a permanent solution to this problem. We are not asking for food at this point. We want a solution to this. Chennai Corporation needs to do something about this. I do not know if the TN govt has the ability to sort out this issue at this instant. If they can do it, we will feel safe and happily serve the people too.”

In Thiruvotriyur, people were seen moving out of their homes saying their homes were inundated. They said, “We tried calling the numbers listed but the lines were not going through or no one responded to our calls.” They also alleged that the authorities opened the sluice gates of the dam at night and that was the reason for the flooding since earlier in the day, as the rains poured, it was getting drained out naturally. 

Another lady said, “The flood is not due to the rains, it was because of the opening of the sluice gates. There is water up to the hip in our homes. Everything is far away from our home, even a shop to buy bread.”

Another lady complained that the cupboards, fridge, cots/beds were all damaged at her home. Snakes had entered homes. Another family alleged that the water level increased on the morning of 5 December 2023. 

A video of a lady teacher manhandled by the officials in Velachery also made the rounds on social media platform X where the teacher is seen literally crying her grievances out. The authorities had been trying to prevent her from meeting ministers Udhayanidhi Stalin, KN Nehru, and Ma Subramaniam as they had come to oversee the relief efforts in the area.

Here is another video of an aggrieved citizen of Velachery says, “No one came to oversee our place. What step has the government taken even after the IMD warned of the cyclone? They should have taken steps to avoid this, right? Why did they not do it? We are leaving our homes. They said they have built storm water drains, where are they? From that 4000 crores, if they had at least spent 1 crore, the water would have drained properly. Water is logged everywhere! There is no outlet for the water to go. We didn’t get any food, we are leaving. No boat came to rescue us nor did any bus come. It never even stopped here. We are walking all the way. Where can we go? Snakes, lizards and rats are entering our house. This government is the worst, this regime is the worst ever! We never expected this.”

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