With no power, it is ‘management’ time

A day after cyclone Vardah battered Chennai, businesses and offices were shut as power supply was down. The government had declared a holiday for schools and colleges.

Public and private sector banks also downed their shutters as there was no power and network connection. It was an added discomfort for many people as there were only a very few functioning ATMs and that too only on arterial roads.

While most of retail shops closed, only super markets were doing brisk business as people queued up to buy things such as vegetables and other essential items. Several shops ran out of stocks for candles and milk pockets. With some petrol bunks closed due to damage to property and lack of supply, operational outlets saw long queues.

Boat Club, a posh residential locality of the city, is one of the areas that bore the brunt of cyclone Vardah that ripped through the city causing damages to this quiet locality’s lush green ambience.

There wasn’t any major damage reported at the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam-Maraimalai Nagar manufacturing corridor. Companies had suspended their operations as a precautionary measure.

“To ensure the safety of our employees, we have halted operations at both Chennai plant and offices of Global Business Services during December 12 and 13, we are carefully monitoring the weather condition and will resume operations as soon as conditions improve,” said a spokesperson of Ford India.

Hyundai’s factory cancelled its second and third operations on Monday. However, it resumed operations on Tuesday.

Large petrochemical units in the Manali Industrial area to the north of Chennai were also shut. These units will restart over the next couple of days as power is restored or if they have their captive supply, said an industry representative. Small-scale units in Guindy and Thirumudivakkam were affected as the factory’s roof sheets were torn off in the high velocity winds and the equipment became water logged in the rains that followed.

Meanwhile, industry body Assocham has estimated the damages caused by cyclone at about a billion dollars. “The hurricane-strength storm caused by cyclone Vardah uprooted trees, overturned cars and caused extensive damage to buildings;; besides it has also significantly hit agricultural sector, destroying banana plantations, papaya groves, paddy and others thereby causing widespread destruction worth up to $1 billion,” DS Rawat, secretary general of Assocham, said in a statement.