People from flood-prone areas have been shifted to Greater Chennai Corporation relief centres

The civic body is ready to welcome more than 2 thousand people in its 300 aid centers | Photo Credit: B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM

While the rain shelters of the Greater Chennai Corporation saw people coming in on Tuesday, the day the northeast monsoon set in, MLAs and MLAs criss-crossed the city visiting the various relief centers and checking the quality of the food served.

The civic body is ready to accommodate more than 2,000 people in its 300 relief centers, which can hold between 30 and 2,000 people each. In four shelters in Mathur, Adyar, Manali and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, 91 residents have been given shelter, an official said. The largest number of residents have been staying in relief shelters in Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar. Food packages were distributed in different places for 43,550 inhabitants of the city. On Tuesday, the Corporation began sensitizing residents in flood-prone areas to avail the services of relief shelters.

According to estimates, around 2 thousand people live in flood-prone areas of the city. Chennai South MLA Thamizhachi Thangapandian inspected the food at the kitchen center in Ward 188 near Pallikaranai in Perungudi area. About 30 people took temporary shelter in a private room nearby, where National Disaster Response Force personnel are also stationed. Volunteers said arrangements are being made to distribute food.

Thousand Lights MP Ezhilan Naganathan said three kitchens had been set up to cover seven wards in his area. These would serve people living in housing board houses, where flood water could rise to first floor level at times. His team of volunteers has moved elderly people living alone or cared for by neighbors and also families living along the canals to relief centres.

Similarly, in Ward 143 of Valasaravakkam area, so far around 100 people were being accommodated and food arrangements would be made, according to another volunteer working with the civic body.

The centers remain closed

Meanwhile, knee-deep flooding has forced relief centers in Thoraipakkam and along Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) to remain closed.

In particular, some people were seen taking refuge under the OMR footbridge. The relief center in Velachery, between Dhandeeswaram and TANSI Nagar, had no inmates but has been distributing basic services, according to Arun Natrajan of the Velachery Dhandeeswaram Nagar Welfare Association. “A doctor was installed and medicines are in stock,” he added.