Tansi Nagar ready with boats, life jackets, rescuers

Chennai: Residents of Tansi Nagar in flood-prone Velachery are ready to face the monsoon fury, if any, this season. And how?

The residents' welfare association has sourced rubber boats and life jackets, and plans to supply two 20-litre drinking water cans and milk packets to each of the 140 houses in case of floods.

Last Dec, in the aftermath of Cyclone Michaung, the neighbourhood battled four-feet stagnant water for three days, with govt help coming too slow. The RWA did not want to relive it this year. So it has mobilised funds to buy three rubber boats and eight life jackets and enrolled 10 volunteers for rescue work. Four people can sit on each of these new boats at a time.

After Cyclone Michaung, it took three-four days for the govt to send rescue boats, said Gopalakrishnan, a rescue volunteers of the Tansi Nagar Welfare Association (TNWA). Many could not get essentials such as milk, water, medicines, and food.

"We don't want to depend only on the govt this time around. There are 10 areas within Tansi Nagar with more than 10,000 residents. There are many senior citizens and people with co-morbidities," said M Balakrishnan, secretary of TNWA, adding that he has parked the boats outside his house.

He recalled that last time people were fighting amongst themselves for boats and rescue. This time, the RWA will rescue people immediately based on SOS calls and leave them on main roads nearby so they can leave safely.

Two of the 10 rescue volunteers received disaster management training from the police department in 2018, and they passed on their knowledge to the rest.

Tansi Nagar is a low-lying area that always floods. "The rain has not been very heavy yet. But Tansi Nagar always drowns and we are ready to face it this time," said Balakrishnan. The floodwater flows to Veerangal Odai via the six-vent culvert and finally drains into the Pallikaranai marshland, but the road height and improper gradient in stormwater drains maroon the residents there.


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