The ‘long’ boat ride to the Sholinganallur junction

As Cyclone Michaung left several areas in Chennai waterlogged, here’s what was at Perumbakkam and leaving the area on December 6, 2023

In the evening of December 6, at Perumbakkam Main Road the “ban” on land vehicles persisted.

As if to embody this ban, a stalled share auto stood in the waters, powerless and desolate. When its engine gave up the struggle, the waters should have been further-up.

The only land vehicles for which the barricade at the Rajiv Gandhi Road-Perumbakkam Main Road junction was being unbarred were mini lorries carrying boats to the edge of the floodwaters that had taken over Perumbakkam Main Road. A pick-up truck of the Tamil Nadu Fire And Rescue Services was in attendance, an inflatable boat riding piggy-back on it.

The vehicles that could tip-toe on the waters — paddle boats operated by fishermen from East Coast Road — was the sought-after transport. These boats were rescuing residents of areas in the neighbourhood of Global Hospitals.

The landscape has a rash of gated communities and water-logging (up to five feet, according to a resident of the area, had made staying home untenable for many residents. Thus started the exodus from these communities.

One resident observed that residents of Glo Dugar, AKS Radiance and Embassy Residency had been signing up for boat rescue to the Rajiv Gandhi Road-Perumbakkam Main Road junction.

Vignesh M., a member of Go Dugur Owners Association, remarked: “The inundation out there has been up to five feet. Despite the situation, some families at my community have decided to stay back, getting by on the water cans they have managed to get and also the food they are supplied by the rescue teams.” Vignesh adds: “The sliver lining in this crisis could be that it would help draw attention to the poorly-maintained roads towards the Global Hospitals area. And these roads are something we have to deal with through the year, not just during the monsoon.”