As Chennai was buffeted by torrential rains, residents in many parts of the city found themselves stranded in residential buildings that were fast getting flooded.
Power supply has been snapped in large areas of the city for the past few days to prevent cases of electrocution, adding to the misery of the stranded households whose supply of drinking water is running out.
"There is no water or electricity supply here for the past two days and food that we have will last for another 4-5 days only. All the grocery shops are closed here and even the IT hub is shut down. The water that we have will last only for another eight hours," said Harish Rao, a Delhiite who is visiting relatives here and is staying in Thoraipakkam in south Chennai.
Situated in the outskirts of Chennai city, Thoraipakkam is surrounded by offices of IT companies such as Infosys and iGate Patni. Local residents say the rescue operation is inadequate as the boat service takes a person only up to the main roads which are not more than 100 metres from the flooded area.
The rainy weather is expected to continue for another three days.
Having already released 5,000 cusecs of water from Chembarambakkam Lake, the government let another 29,000 cusecs flow into River Adyar on Tuesday.
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Flooding has forced closure of schools and colleges and suspension of suburban train services.
Leela Kumar, who lives in Central Chennai, said: "We have the benefit of living in central Chennai as there is no water stagnation as such and the electricity supply too is pretty smooth. The adjoining areas such as Anna Nagar and Mogappair have not been so lucky."
The worst affected areas are said to be Thambaram, Guindy and South Velachery where water levels have reached up to 6 feet.
A major fire was reported in a building at the Sowcarpet Market. A sprawling neighbourhood in the northern part of Chennai, Sowcarpet is known for its wholesale cloth shops and electronics and appliances market. The area has been submerged under two-three feet of water since Monday.
--Indo-Asian New Service
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