An effort is on by some 24X7 news channels and social media to create an impression that Chennai is facing a deluge due to the North-East monsoon rainfall which commenced on November 1.
Except for the electrocution of two eight-year-old girls on Wednesday when they came into contact with live electric wire in a pool of water caused by rainfall, no disasters of any kind has struck Chennai, according to Tamil Nadu Ministers and officials.
Sellur Raju, Tamil Nadu Minister for Cooperation, and Jayakumar, Minister for Fisheries, said the State Government is monitoring all rain-related issues and deploying rescue and relief teams “within minutes” of getting information of any kind.
Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy and deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam accompanied by senior Ministers and officials visited water-logged areas of North Chennai and inspected damages caused by water-logging.
Some of the media houses reported that many places have been flooded which was far from truth. “There is water-logging in certain low-lying areas but the water has been drained out by Friday morning. The concerned Government departments are attending to each phone call and other alerts they are getting,” said Palaniswamy while speaking to reporters after inspecting the water-logged areas.
Social media groups added to the woe by circulating pictures of the December 2015 floods which had devastated the metropolis. “Many people outside Tamil Nadu are under the impression that there is a major flood in Chennai because of this misinformation campaign. There are water-logging in certain low-lying regions in the city. But the Government departments are receptive to all emergencies this time,” said Abhijit Nakulan, a corporate executive who had suffered a lot in the 2015 floods. He said that a permanent solution to prevent the water logging was the need of the hour.
The death of two kids on Wednesday brought to focus the need to avert incidents of people coming in contact with live electric wires.” The junction boxes which are situated on every road must be kept at a position higher to the water level. Any joints on the cable or wire must be properly avoided to prevent interaction of water with the live wires.
The area where transformers are installed should be secluded with chain links. What we see in Chennai and elsewhere is uncovered junction boxes and transformers erected on cheap low quality concrete poles,” said Pratap Nadar, an entrepreneur with decades of experience in power engineering. He pointed out that nearly 50 persons were electrocuted in the 2015 Chennai floods.