CHENNAI: Puzhal residents continue to be plagued by problems after the unexpected release of water from the Red Hills reservoir late on Friday night.A resident who claimed that he had spoken to the reservoir authorities said that they informed him that water levels were even higher on Saturday morning due to a release of up to 600 cubic ft in addition to the massive 1,400 cubic feet the previous night. To make matters worse, sewage mixed with the stagnant water and power supply was cut for almost 32 hours in some areas, only to return in the evening when water levels let up. Unable to cope, several families chose to brave the floods and wade out by foot in order to stay with relatives in other parts of the city, till the issue is solved. Sridhar Ramasamy, president of the Macro Marvel County Association in Balaji Nagar, said, “When my family and I left on Saturday afternoon, our car was almost submerged till the headlights. When I asked why weren’t informed, we were told that one representative of every colony had been informed, but the information never reached us.”Though water levels decreased by Saturday evening, it is still near impossible for the movement of vehicles in the area. KS Bharathi, another resident of Puzhal, said, “With all the insects in the water and the sewage stench, we decided it was best to just stay at home. But, for those who have not stocked food or water, this proved quite a struggle.” “After the 24-hour cut, we finally got electricity back for a short while during which all of us put on our motors,” said R Priya. “One of the biggest problems was that people could not use their toilets to flush!” While residents hope to resume normal activity after blue skies were in view on Sunday, the only solution is proper maintenance of the drainage canal, they say. “It is usually blocked and is always unattended. When asked about the flooding, the authorities were not willing to take responsibility,” Sridhar said.
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