00:00Down south, this is from Tamil Nadu, weather updates that we are bringing to you.
00:05It is a little alarming, the situation there at this point.
00:09Heavy rains last in Chennai and several parts of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday.
00:13The Indian Meteorological Department has issued warnings for heavy rainfall in isolated areas.
00:18Now while most parts of the state, let us tell you, receive less than 50 mm of rain,
00:23it is Ramanathapuram, which recorded 149 mm,
00:28Nagapattinam at 90 mm and parts of Chennai at 63.5 mm.
00:34Now a holiday has been declared for schools and colleges in Chengalpattu, Karalor and Chennai.
00:41The subway at Tamburam Sanatorium Station was also flooded,
00:46with commuters seen wading through sewage-laden water.
00:49Deputy Chief Minister Udenadi Stalin inspected ongoing infrastructure development
00:54and renovation works in South Chennai,
00:57aimed at improving waterways and helping the floodwater flow into the sea during the monsoon season.
01:03Let us quickly take a look at some reactions.
01:07But before that, let us just tell you that these are the conditions that we bring to you
01:14from different parts of Tamil Nadu at this point.
01:18While there were efforts that were made by the state government as they have said in their own statements,
01:25the situation on the ground still seems to be like this,
01:29where we see streets laden with potholes right ahead of the monsoon season setting in.
01:35It's the northeastern monsoon that's set in Tamil Nadu at this point.
01:40Pramod Madhav joins me on the broadcast to bring us a pulse of the ground at this point.
01:44Pramod, very good morning to you.
01:46Help us understand where you are at currently and also the situation there.
01:52The alert that had come in from IMD had said that rains will continue to lash across parts of Chennai
01:59and Tamil Nadu for that matter.
02:01Let's understand what exactly is the situation now.
02:08We are at the one of the important roads called as Anna Saleh.
02:11And yesterday and the day before yesterday, Chennai has faced good amount of rainfall.
02:15In fact, like in the state of Tamil Nadu,
02:17Kadalur has received maximum amount of rainfall that is 174 millimetres.
02:21Then it is Pudhichari Unitarianity, 147 millimetres.
02:24And when it comes to Tamil Nadu, Chennai in particular, 84 millimetres at Nungkambakam alone.
02:28And what we could see in the morning is that, of course, water has drained in many locations.
02:32However, there are sporadic spots like this.
02:34This is one of the important roads, Anna Saleh.
02:36And the interesting fact is that, like, you know,
02:38work is happening of bridge construction or metro in various areas.
02:42So there are like such kind of like localised areas there are,
02:44because of bad roads and such, water stagnation is also visible.
02:48Now, authorities claim that action is being taken and all these are being sorted out.
02:52Yesterday, even also the Deputy Chief Minister said that the Chief Minister held meetings
02:56along with the Chief Secretary and also through video conferencing at Delta districts
03:01where holiday has been declared for today, including Trichy, Tanjavur, Perambulur and spots.
03:05But however, the important aspect here is that, like, there are in the city alone,
03:09there are such spots which are becoming red zones,
03:12because of such bad notes under the arterial roads,
03:15it's going to actually choke the traffic as well.
03:17In fact, this is a spot where you could see now,
03:19the traffic vehicles are like moving very slowly at this spot.
03:22But the important aspect is that this spot is not even 300 metres away from the Chief Minister's residence.
03:28So there are such areas where such kind of issues are there,
03:31which authorities will have to deal.
03:32But this is the first wave of the rains from the monsoon,
03:37and it is expected to actually get a little worse tomorrow and day after,
03:42considering that there is a possibility of another low pressure to also be formed.
03:46So authorities on one side claim that all measures have been taken,
03:49but it has to be constantly monitored and made sure that on the ground everything has been taken care of, Shreya.
03:55Right. Pramod, let's understand one thing.
03:57We've been consistently seeing statements coming in from the government with regards to how
04:01enough action and measures have already been taken to ensure that the situation doesn't turn from bad to worse.
04:09But most of the visuals that we see from not just different parts of Tamil Nadu,
04:14but from Chennai itself, as you're saying, this particular street is very close to the Chief Minister's residence.
04:20Why was action not taken to, in fact, ensure that roads aren't in this condition,
04:26given that we know that this is the monsoon season in Tamil Nadu?
04:30Well, it's an important aspect because, like, almost, like,
04:36there is another spot that also the Chief Minister constantly takes in that spot also.
04:41Until almost a week ago, the roads were fine.
04:43But as we speak, there is a major work that is happening over there for a bridge.
04:47And because of that, this road has been shrunk.
04:50And what we see right now is that, just like you mentioned,
04:52there is an aspect where authorities are supposed to constantly monitor this.
04:56This kind of, this patchwork is, this issue has been consistent for nearly almost two weeks or such.
05:02So, they could have taken measures earlier.
05:04They could have laid the roads at night to make sure,
05:06knowing that this road is going to become an issue in the future,
05:09because more and more rain as it comes,
05:11you could see that M-sand has been used to actually cover,
05:14but that is not how it's going to work.
05:15So, these kind of issues are the ones that they have to actually have planned earlier,
05:19made sure that there are, like, red spots, which the public itself know.
05:22All they had to do is, like, you know, get the information through either an X app or something,
05:27and they could have immediately done work on it.
05:29But unfortunately, it looks like while the Deputy Chief Minister says,
05:32like, major efforts and works have been done,
05:34such localised issues, which actually turned huge in the end of the monsoon,
05:39those have been not taken care of.
05:40And that is being reflected at this spot, Shreya.
05:43Right, Ramon.
05:44Thank you for bringing us those details from the ground.
05:47And viewers, we are consistently keeping a check of how things are panning out
05:51in different parts of Tamil Nadu, not just Chennai.
05:55And as we speak of Chennai specifically,
05:59let us take you through the harsh reality of Chennai's infrastructure
06:03as the monsoon approaches.
06:05And in fact, not approaches now, but it's already here.
06:08Portholes in Medavakkam acting as death traps,
06:11risking residents' lives and neglected roads in Pallikarnai,
06:17despite being an IT hub.
06:19Now, officials have claimed readiness for the rains,
06:22but on the ground, residents face broken roads and persistent dangers,
06:27as our colleague was also bringing you reports of.
06:30Our reality check brings these stark contradictions
06:33to light as Chennai races for monsoon mayhem.
06:41This is the state of affairs in Chennai.
06:55This is the state of preparedness for the monsoon.
07:02As part one of our reality check,
07:05we visited Medavakkam in Chennai,
07:07where potholes pose as death traps
07:09and residents risk their lives every day
07:12just to make it home.
07:16I'm just going to drive through and show you how difficult it is.
07:18This entire stretch of road is riddled with huge potholes.
07:23This is how difficult it is for me to drive.
07:25I can feel my vehicles shaking as I drive.
07:28Just imagine the safety of citizens
07:30that has been jeopardized
07:31by the Chennai's civic administration.
07:34This is nothing but occur,
07:36lack of apathy and disregard
07:38for the citizens of Chennai.
07:40In fact, I just had a word
07:42with one of those citizens
07:43who are residing in this road
07:44and they told me that
07:46this particular patch of road
07:47has been like this
07:48for the last many, many years.
07:50Has this been the road's condition for many years?
07:52Very, very worst year.
07:53Last four, five years,
07:55this is the very worst road.
07:57It's not the one bit only.
07:59Otherwise, all road is good.
08:01This one bit is very worst.
08:02Has the area's authority come here
08:05ever to inspect the road?
08:06Have you ever told us?
08:08Come and see, come and see.
08:09And some little bit in the building,
08:12rashes, we can clear this.
08:13After that, it will be again the real problem.
08:17Residents say their pleas for better infra
08:20have fallen on deaf ears.
08:21And they're not the only ones.
08:23Our next stop is Pallikarnai,
08:30the IT hub of the city
08:31where we decided to conduct a reality check
08:34after multiple requests
08:35from residents on social media.
08:37And here's what we found.
08:39We're reporting from Pallikarnai,
08:44which connects Velichiri to Medawakam.
08:47This is one of the most popular
08:48Chennai's IT hubs,
08:50the IT corridor.
08:51And you can see the kind of roads
08:53that we're talking about.
08:55It's half cobblestones,
08:56half tar roads.
08:57In fact, the civic anger
08:58among the people is palpable.
09:00After wasting months of sunny days,
09:03it is now too late
09:05for the government to do any fixes
09:07as the rainy season has finally arrived.
09:12Tall claims have been made by the government
09:14that they are fully prepared for the monsoon.
09:17But is this really their sense of preparedness,
09:20of broken roads
09:21and death traps for residents?
09:23Anagar Keshav in Chennai for India Today.
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