DMK President M Karunanidhi has demanded a judicial probe into the water released from the Chembarambakkam reservoir in Chennai last week and submitted a memorandum to the Governor K Rosaiah on Friday.
In the memorandum, Karunanidhi blamed the AIADMK government for delay in taking decisions which led to flooding in the city. The floods led to death of many people and also major loss of property. Talking to the media, he said, “The PWD department ought to have prepared the lake to receive such a heavy inflow after international forecast and the Meteorological department warning that 500 mm rain would be received on December 1 and 2.”
He said that more than 33,500 cusecs of water was released into the Adyar river which was already overflowing which caused flooding in most parts of the city.
“Neither the Chembarambakkam lake nor the Adyar was desilted and deepened for the last four-and-a-half years and it has created the man-made calamity,” he alleged.
He also added that the chief secretary was waiting for clearance from the advisor to the Government Sheela Balakrishnan and she was waiting for the Chief Minister’s decision. He also alleged that the Government was showing death figures much lesser than the actual figures.
He criticized the government’s decision to keep 85-90% water in the last week of November and also spoke about the incapability of the government to handle such situations.
Talking about the Madras High Court’s statement that there was lack of co-ordination between the central and state government agencies in rescue and relief operations, Karunanidhi said that it was an issue of grave significance, according to TOI report.