Intermittent rain keeps Chennai, suburbs on toes

Intermittent rain on Sunday and forecast of more over the next two days kept Chennai, its suburbs and coastal districts on their toes even as normal life appeared to be returning to the flood-ravaged areas.

All flight operations, domestic and international, and train services from both Chennai Central and Egmore are to resume on Monday as water levels in the Adyar and Cooum rivers receded enabling authorities to restore tracks this afternoon. Throughout Sunday, there have been intermittent rains, which were at times heavy, in Chennai, its suburbs, Kanchipuram, Thiruvallur and Cuddalore districts where the weatherman has predicted more rains for the next 48 hours. Rain-battered Cuddalore is likely to get heavy to very heavy showers, Meteorological department said, adding that today’s showers were due to a twin weather system, including formation of a new trough of low pressure over Bay of Bengal along the Tamil Nadu coast.

Chennai city, which has been experiencing intermittent rains, would continue to be cloudy and rain or thundershowers, at times heavy, are likely. Power supply has been restored in several areas, while it continued to be disconnected in many others where water has not receded as a measure of precaution.

Ravaged by heavy rains last week which crippled services, several private and public sector banks operated today. A big chunk of private and public sector banks functioned to clear the backlog caused by the rains which had paralysed ATM services.

As a precautionary measure, the state government has declared holidays for schools and colleges tomorrow in the districts, including Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur.

All domestic and international flights from Chennai, both day and night, will resume from tomorrow morning after partial day-time services operated today.

“....availability of Chennai airport for all weather day and night operations for all flights for which domestic and international terminals will be available from 6 am of 7.12.2015,” an Airport Authority of India statement said here late this evening.

This followed an inspection by DGCA for night operations, an AAI spokesman said.

The airport was shut down last Tuesday night after heavy downpour flooded the runway and all other operating areas.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathy Raju is likely to visit Chennai airport tomorrow to make an on-the-spot inspection. Altogether five passenger flights, all of Air India, took off from or landed at Chennai Airport till 5 pm today. An Oman Air plane stranded at the Chennai airport departed for Muscat with two crew. Four ferry flights also took off or landed at the airport, AAI sources said.

Meanwhile,  With rain-ravaged Chennai limping back to normal, the railway traffic on the Vijayawada-Chennai section has been restored and trains are running as per schedule, a senior Railway official said.