Karthik and his wife stand in the middle of their living room, surveying the havoc caused by the floods.
They stand ankle deep in slushy water wearing gumboots, salvaging whatever they can. Around them the furniture, electrical appliances and kitchen fittings are all waterlogged and beyond recovery.
Their house on the southern outskirts of Chennai is one of several thousands in the city that carries the marks of the unprecedented intensity of the rains of last two weeks that caused the flooding.
Tractors and earth-moving equipment are being used as impromptu transport vehicles to cart residents across waterlogged stretches to reach the main roads. “We do this twice a day to pick up essentials. Our house is in four feet of water,” says another resident.
Many others are even worse off. Families huddle together in makeshift shelters on the roadside, in schools and community halls, all waiting for relief.
At Saint Joseph’s Higher Secondary School on the Old Mahabalipuram Road, Pachaiammal sits on the porch with her family as she waits for the water to recede. At the school gates, as a minivan drives up with food packets, people scramble to get a share of the day’s rations.
It is common to see vans and trucks laden with parcels of food and clothing, donated by good samaritans on the city’s roads. They stop at an intersection, a crowd gathers and the stocks are distributed. Tired residents queue up outside banks – kept open as a special measure to disburse cash to account holders – and outside ATMs. People are in needof cash as credit cards do not work due to telecom networks being down. Even cell phone connectivity has been poor. Residents have gradually started the process of getting back to their lives. A State Government release said that over 22,000 Chennai Corporation workers are involved in clearing the debris and mess left behind by the receding waters; a 170 vehicles have been pressed into service for conservancy work.
Chennai Airport too, has briefly resumed operations, after it was shut down due to water logging on Wednesday night, authorities said.