These routes clear between Chennai and Bengaluru: People rush in and out of rain-hit city

The entire stretch of National Highway-4 between Bengaluru and Chennai is clear
These routes clear between Chennai and Bengaluru: People rush in and out of rain-hit city
These routes clear between Chennai and Bengaluru: People rush in and out of rain-hit city
Written by:

Even as rescue and relief operations were in full swing in flood-hit Chennai, its suburbs and neighbouring districts, no heavy rains in the night saw many people heave a huge sigh of relief.

The road from Bengaluru to Chennai has been cleared with vehicles able to move via areas like Ramupet,  Sriperumbudur, Poonamallee and CMBT.

"We left north Bengaluru at around 4:15 am and we reached the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) in Koyembedu by around 9:15 am. The roads are completely clear on the highway and we had no problem in getting here via Sriperumbudar and Poonamallee. There are a few potholes though," says Pavithra, who travelled from Bengaluru to Chennai on Friday morning.

The entire stretch of National Highway-4 between the two cities is clear.

Many private bus operators like KPN travels, Shama sardar travels, SRM Travels, Hebron, Muskan tours and travels, Seabird tourists and Aditya travels are working as per their regular schedules to transport people in and out of the city.

However some areas like Porur inside the city are still not accessible by road and can only be accessed by boats.

"Porur was not accessible, so we went via Anna nagar," another commuter said.

A report in Bangalore Mirror adds that many arterial roads, including the Mount Road over the Marmalong bridge were flooded. The Grand Southern Trunk Road that links Chennai with Madurai and beyond was cut off after breaches in several places in Kanchipuram district.  

The army has also been sending in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to assess the situation in areas which are difficult to access.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa also took stock of the flood situation in Chennai and its suburban areas on Thursday after she conducted an aerial survey of the city.

Jayalalithaa said police, fire and rescue, national and state disaster forces and Coast Guard were on stand-by for need-based evacuations. “I have ordered officials to take precautionary measures before releasing surplus water from reservoirs and evacuate people living in low-lying areas,” she said.

The Chennai airport has been announced shut till Sunday and all trains from Egmore and Chennai central were also cancelled till Saturday.

Trains that were scheduled to arrive at Chennai, have also either been cancelled or diverted. Some have been partially cancelled, running only up to a certain station. Find the full list here.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com