MLA Dha Velu, Councilors swing into actionMylapore bears brunt of cyclone, limping back to normali

BY PRAKASH M SWAMY

The furious cyclone Michuang unleashed an unprecedented havoc on

the residents of Mylapore and its neighborhood keeping the residents

in home imprisonment for three days, severely damaging many roads,

causing water logging and inundation, rendering people homeless,

uprooting trees and turning the life upside down.

Mylapore is now limping back to normality thanks to the tireless efforts

and relief operations carried out` by Mylapore MLA Dha Velu and

Corporation councilors such as Amirda Varshini and Vimala

Krishnamurthy.

Dha Velu in an exclusive interview to Thiru Mylais Star reasoned out a

few issues responsible for the woes of the residents – geographical

problems such as water level, outlet issues, drainage and seepage

issues and flooding of EB pillar resulting in power shutdown.

The worst affected area was Sivaswami Salai and close proximity roads

such as Balakrishna Street and Brindavan Street. The residents were

evacuated immediately and housed in corporation shelters or taken to

their relatives or friends place. “Mylapore is back to normal and we

had learned many a lesson in the latest cyclone.”

Flooding of EB pillar box in Foreshore Estate made it impossible for the

staff to go and fix the fault and the result was power shutdown in some

areas causing hardship to the residents. “Areas like Seethammal Colony

prone to flooding in the past 40 years or so were not affected and the

resident welfare association itself had acknowledged it, Velu said.

Anticipating the nature’s fury, we were prepared and completed all the

pending storm water drain projects and it helped to prevent water

logging. But the issue is lack of outlet and rise of water level in

Buckingham Canal leading to flooding, he said.

Praising the staff of Greater Chennai Corporation, Tamil Nadu Electricity

Board, Police and rescue teams, emergency workers and Urbaser

workers he said each one served with dedication unmindful of the

onslaught risking their lives.

“I got a call from the Chief Minister M K Stalin at 11 58 PM just before

midnight on the first day and he instructed me that no stones should be

left unturned in providing safety and security to the residents. He has a

special interest in Mylapore. He ordered me to update him frequently

as he was awake the whole night instructing ministers, officials and

elected representatives.” Velu said.

Velu and his team who hardly slept for four days except nap for a few

hours said he ensured that no residents go hungry and provided food,

water bottles and cookies and sandwich to the affected people. “I used

my party men to provide relief and supply food and water and they

worked tirelessly.”

Five temporary shelters were set up at Queen Mary’s College,

Ambedkar Nagar Community Hall and Savithri Ammal Oriental School

and other schools and over 1,000 stranded people were provided with

three meals a day and blankets, clothing, for three days. Medical relief

was also provided and doctors were on call, he said.

Highlighting the rescue operations, Velu said he got a call from a

resident that an elderly sick lady got stranded in Nandanam Tower

Block and he ensured that the senior citizen was taken to a safe place.

Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, MP, took personal interest in Mylaporeans and

she herself cooked food for distribution along with South Chennai MP

Dr Thamizhachi Thangapandian. The work of Dha Velu was praised by S

G Surya, secretary of Tamil Nadu BJP in the X (Twitter) page saying

“Velu was on the ground from day one. Where are other 21 MLAs?”

Over 60,000 food packets were distributed during the four worse days

and the food was prepared by cooks and volunteers at Sri

Kapaleeswarar Karpagambal Kalyana Mandapam in Greenways Road.

Many Urbaser workers living far away from Mylapore could not report

for duty due to flooding of their dwellings and we had to make special

arrangements for them so that the garbage is cleared immediately.

The Greater Chennai Corporation has seen a 50 percent increase in

garbage collection post cyclone Michuang, collecting 9,000 tons of

waste a day. There is no space at transfer stations and delays in door-

to-door collection have led to waste piling up on the roads. The

corporation is struggling to handle newer waste like sofas and bed

mattresses as material recovery centers are not working. Hiring rag

pickers could help unclog transfer stations and the dump yard.

Amirda Varshini, Congress Councilor of Mandaveli 126 Division said in

anticipation of the ensuing monsoon she had launched a QR code last

month to help residents contact her. People could register complaints;

send photos and proof of damage. “I was well prepared for the

monsoon.”

She said the failure of EB feeder in Foreshore Estate Substation caused

lot of anxiety. It took two days to restore power as the workers could

not reach to replace the feeder that was burst. There was water logging

in Fifth Trust Cross Street, Ayodhya Flats and opposite St John’s School

The residential complex along the coast and near the Buckingham Canal

were worst affected.

“We supplied 1000 kg of food for four days to stranded residents of

Nambikkai Nagar, Karakottai, Vanniyambathi, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar and

Loop Road,” Varshini said. “We also distributed 1,500 milk packets,

cookies, bread, blankets, water cans and bottles from my own funds. I

did not get any paisa from the Corporation.”

Her house in Karpagam Avenue was flooded and she had to wade in

three feet water multiple times to supervise relief operations. Blocking

of drains and removal of garbage posed a major challenge. We had an

excellent support from Corporation, Metrowater, Health Department

and EB department staff in mitigating the problems of the people.”