Tamil Nadu is in for another bout of rain and thunderstorm on Monday, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)’s forecast. “The trough of low pressure has moved westwards near Kanyakumari. This will bring in heavy to very heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu in the next 24 hours,” SR Ramanan, director, Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai said on Sunday.
The forecast for Monday is cloudy skies with possibility of rain or thunderstorm, according to the IMD. The death toll due to Monsoon fury crossed 122 on Sunday with one person dying in a building collapse in a Chennai suburb due to heavy rain.
What has caused apprehension in the minds of parents is that schools and colleges in Chennai and three neighbouring districts are set for reopening on Monday after a ten-day shut down due to heavy rains which took a heavy toll in the State. Sunday’s rain has aggravated the flood situation in Chennai with more roads getting logged with water. The government of Puducherry has declared Monday a holiday for all educational institutions due to the heavy rains of Sunday.
According to the IMD, Chennai has already crossed the average annual rainfall of 140 cm in the North East Monsoon. With a full month remaining for the Monsoon to pass over Chennai, the city has received 143 cm rainfall till Saturday.
Meanwhile, Nirmala Sitaraman, Union Minister for Commerce, visited the Ambattur Industrial Estate near Chennai to take stock of the situation arising out of flooding of the hundreds of small and mini industrial units. “Most of the units have been severely hit due to floods. I will take up this issue with the union government. I will also write to the chief minister about the impact of the rains,” Sitaraman told reporters at Chennai. She assured all help to the rain-hit industrial units.
Teams deputed by the BJP state chief have fanned out across the State offering relief materials and food packets. In Chennai, the BJP team were flooded with complaints against the Chennai Corporation for its lackadaisical approach to the requests made by the residents.