Rescue, relief in full swing as Chennai battles floods
Chennai, Dec 3 (PTI) Rescue and relief operations were in full swing today in the worst flood-affected areas of Chennai and suburbs and neighbouring districts which enjoyed a welcome respite from torrential rains as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 1,000 crore more aid to Tamil Nadu. Heavy rains continued to lash coastal Cuddalore district, one of the worst affected areas ever since North-East monsoon fury started early last month, and Villupuram and Kanyakumari districts and Puducherry as the death toll in the state mounted to 269. The city remained virtually cut off from the rest of the country with air, rail and road transport services continued to be suspended while public transport was crippled because of flooding of arterial main roads, including the Mount Road over the Marmalong bridge. While intermittent rains have been forecast for Chennai, coastal and interior Tamil Nadu will receive more rains in the next 24 hours. The Grand Southern Trunk Road that links Chennai with Madurai and beyond was cut off after breaches in several places in Kanchipuram district. The Southern Railway announced cancellation of all inter and intra-state train services till Saturday while the airport operations will remain suspended till Sunday. Prices of milk, vegetables and food items sky rocketed because of short supply and people were forced to fork out huge amount of money for buying essentials. With the flood wreaking havoc, Modi undertook an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas of Chennai and its suburbs and neighbouring districts of Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur. Later he held consultations with Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at the naval base "INS Adyar" and announced Rs 1,000 crore aid for relief works over and above Rs 940 crore given by the Centre to Tamil Nadu during the earlier spell of rains in November. Jayalalithaa also made a separate aerial survey of the affected areas.
