A police officer was killed and another was injured after a tree outside the Secretariat in Chennai’s Fort St George area on Tuesday, November 2. Kavitha, a head constable, was killed during the incident, while another male constable, Murugan, was hospitalised with minor injuries. Condoling the death of Kavitha, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to her family. The police said that the huge tree was uprooted at around 9.15 am on Tuesday, possibly due to rains. Half a dozen police personnel who were on duty there managed to escape the situation.
Kavitha is survived by her husband who works with the Southern Railways, and three children. family who live in the Tondiarpet railway quarters. According to police, due to incessant rains in the city, the Secretariat was deserted on Tuesday, as otherwise more than 100 people would have been present to submit their grievances.
In another rain-related accident, a 32-year-old techie died on Monday morning after his two wheeler hit a pothole in the arterial Anna Salai in Chennai. The deceased man, identified as Mohammed Yunus, fell under the wheels of a government city bus and died on the spot. While riding his two-wheeler, Mohammed hit the pothole, which caused him to lose control of the vehicle and come under the wheels of the bus. Following the accident, the Tamil Nadu Highways department covered the pothole on Tuesday morning.
The pothole was reportedly caused due to the rains that have been lashing the city since Sunday. Incidentally, it was raining at the time of the accident as well. As a band-aid solution, the Tamil Nadu Highways Department, which maintains the road where the accident took place, filled the pothole with sand after Mohammed lost his life.
The heavy rains prompted the Tamil Nadu government to shut schools in Chennai and eight other districts — Chengalpattu, Mayiladuthurai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvannamalai, Perambalur, Cuddalore, Villupuram and Ariyalur — on Tuesday. Schools are shut in Kodaikanal as well, and colleges in Chennai have also declared a holiday for students.