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Chennai Rains Expose Dravidian Model: CM Stalin’s Kolathur Constituency Under Water, Polimer News Deletes Reportage

The Commune

The first spell of heavy rains brought the city and its suburbs to a standstill, causing waterlogging in areas such as T. Nagar, Anna Nagar, Valluvar Kottam, Nungambakkam, Kolathur among many others. The closure of many subways led to traffic snarls putting residents at severe inconvenience. Those who had left office at 6 PM had reached homes as late as 11 PM due to the flooding of arterials roads and subways. In some locations, power supply and street lights were turned off. G.N. Chetty Road flyover in T. Nagar saw cars being parked due to water accumulation.

A report by Polimer News showed a resident of Kolathur (CM MK Stalin’s constituency) lamenting about the plight of waterlogging in the area.

“I live in this area since my birth. I travel to and from office on this route. For this small rains, there’s so much of flooding.“, the resident says as just 2-3 hours of rains deluged the area.

“The highlight is, they had kept this place blocked for more than 8 months, that is after the new (DMK) government came to power. Even now, the water is standing still. On the opposite side there’s so much water that can submerge a vehicle. No use. So much of public tax money is being wasted. For 8 months we had to take a detour. Instead of travelling in this route, we had to take the Anna Salai. We still face the same difficulty. It would be good if the Corporation takes some steps going forward. Imagine the plight of residents staying here with so much waterlogging. Moreover, this is the CM’ constituency. They should’ve taken care of it more. But they never do it. They give priority only to VIP areas and where there are celebrities. We’re also people right? They collect tax from us too right? My request is for the Corporation to highlight these and take some steps.“, he says.

He further added “For a mere rain spell for 2-3 hours, there’s so much of waterlogging. I shudder to think what would happen if heavier rains lash. These roads were readied recently. Not even 6 months have passed. Just a little ahead, the roads have already started to peel off. This is the condition of the new road. There’s no quality road.”

Another resident named Gangadhar told Polimer News that despite works happening in the area owing to being the CM’s constituency, it is the same story every year.

He also noted that the 1913 helpline of the Greater Chennai Corporation has been of no help. “They could atleast attend the call and say we will attend the issue. But the call itself is not going.”, he said adding that the last time such worst flooding scenes he saw in his area was during the 2015 floods.

“Even after so much of works being done apparently to rectify the issue, water continues to stand. Then of what use is the work? It is not even a very heavy spell. Just 2-3 hours of good rains has led to waterlogging. On the other side, there’s even more water standing and people are not being allowed to go there.”, he said.

Gangadhar also noted that the development works are not seen to its completion and left halfway. He also said that stop-gap measure to fix the problem temporarily is not going to be effective. He also said that the roads that were laid recently has started to peel off.

Apparently, this reportage about flooding in CM Stalin’s own constituency has alleged been removed by Polimer News on its social media channels.

Many on social media lashed out the DMK government for being underprepared for the monsoons. The hashtag #4000_கோடி_என்னாச்சு (What happened to ₹4000 crores?) is trending on social media.

Here are some more pictures/videos that shows the plight of Chennai amidst rains.

This is the condition of roads in Minjur Road, suburb of Chennai.

Water deluged the T-6 Avadi Police Station.

While a few DMK supporters and the DMK IT Wing has been attempting to downplay the flooding situation in Kolathur, DMK Minister Sekarbabu himself was seen in knee-deep water inspecting the flooded areas of Kolathur.

It is noteworthy to mention that earlier in November 2023, CM Stalin assured that residents of Chennai need not worry about waterlogging during the monsoon adding that the city is well prepared to handle heavy rainfall.

Amidst the flooding CM Stalin has asked his ministers to plunge themselves on the ground to go to flooded areas with officials and corporation official working on a war-footing.

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