The Indian Railways has cancelled as many as 23 trains due incessant rains in Chennai.
Confirming the development, Railways' Public Relations Officer Anil Saxena on Wednesday said, "We have cancelled 23 trains, while 11 have been diverted and eight partially cancelled due to heavy rains."
"We are taking measures to provide drinking water and other basic facilities to the passengers stranded in several trains and various stations," said Saxena.
Saxena said the trains were being diverted to nearest bigger junctions as two major divisions of Chennai had stopped operating.
He, meanwhile, advised the passengers to check schedules of their trains traversing through Chennai online before undertaking journey to avoid inconvenience.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has termed the situation "critical", adding that army, navy and NDRF teams had been deployed in the city for relief and rescue operations.
He said the Centre was ready to provide all possible assistance to Tamil Nadu in view of unprecedented floods in Chennai.
Stating that the Tamil Nadu Government has also submitted a memorandum to the Centre for assistance, Singh said a central team had already been sent to flood-hit Chennai to assess the situation.
