Flood-ravaged Chennai's spirits rose with the sun on Monday as flights took off, trains chugged on and people got back to work.As water receded from many areas, the challenges became clearer - of homeless thousands, the spectre of an epidemic, and the urgency to stitch together badly battered infrastructure.
At the last count by police, the state-wide casualty stood at 427, including 134 in Chennai, but from all indications the toll is likely to be higher.The government appealed to people to contribute to its relief fund, and money did flow in from different quarters, but the enormity of the challenge remains to be assessed.
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Rebuilding Chennai remains a long and hard task. The CM's offer of Rs 10,000 for people who have lost their houses could well be a temporary solace. Of the 1.25 lakh people in relief camps, tens of thousands do not have a house to go back to. Giving them permanent houses will be a testing priority for the government, as many of them were squatters along river banks.
Cleaning up streets of muck and repairing roads and bridges will be another herculean task for an administration still grappling with the losses. While the corporation tries to patch up potholes wherever the roads are dry , cave-ins continue.
These brick-and-mortar repairs may well be pushed down the priority list in the event of an epidemic -something which experts like former public health director Dr S Elango see as a high probability. "Let's be prepared for the worst," he told TOI. "It could be pretty bad with toxic chemicals and rotting carcasses in stagnant water."
Health secretary J Radhakrishnan said there was no epidemic, so far, and that the government is equipped with enough medicines.
While the government gathers its wits, on the surface, life was crawling back to normal. Buses plied, without charging commuters, but autorickshaw drivers returned to their fleecing ways as cabs remained off roads. Power supply was restored across the city but for a few patches where electrocution remained a danger.
Mobile phones crackled back to life and people were talking long hours sharing woes and exchanging hopes. ATMs opened to snaking queues, and petrol filling stations were back in business.On Monday , 40 flights took off from the city , and the airport promised to be back to fullfledged operation by Tuesday .
There were, still, concerns left behind by the receding flood. Students had lost their books, parents their ration cards and voter IDs. The government was quick to announce that special camps will be set up to issue these cards without the usual cumbersome processes.
Schools will remain closed at least till Wednesday . The state board exams had been postponed to January , but experts said students would need counselling to get over the trauma of the disaster.
As sun shone bright, flood-battered Chennai and its suburbs were today fast on course to normalcy with train and air services resuming after days of disruption due to unprecedented rains.
Waters have receded from most areas of the city ravaged by floods and the authorities have scrambled nearly 25,000 sanitary workers to clear the stinking garbage accumulated over the past several days to prevent outbreak of diseases.
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Chennai Airport Director Deepak Shastri said the facility became fully functional this morning.
"Airport is functioning one hundred per cent. In fact, I am waiting for the schedule from private airlines," he said.
A total of 35 flights operated till around 5 pm although international services were yet to go on full steam. As many as 18 flights of state-owned and private carriers, arrived from various cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Goa among others, officials said.
Similarly, 17 flights to various destinations including Delhi, Mumbai, Port Blair and Bangalore took off, they said.
International flight operations commenced since 6 AM today. An Air India Express flight arrived at 10 am t ..
At the last count by police, the state-wide casualty stood at 427, including 134 in Chennai, but from all indications the toll is likely to be higher.The government appealed to people to contribute to its relief fund, and money did flow in from different quarters, but the enormity of the challenge remains to be assessed.
http://www.finehomebuilding.com/profile/buyjybacklinks
Rebuilding Chennai remains a long and hard task. The CM's offer of Rs 10,000 for people who have lost their houses could well be a temporary solace. Of the 1.25 lakh people in relief camps, tens of thousands do not have a house to go back to. Giving them permanent houses will be a testing priority for the government, as many of them were squatters along river banks.
Cleaning up streets of muck and repairing roads and bridges will be another herculean task for an administration still grappling with the losses. While the corporation tries to patch up potholes wherever the roads are dry , cave-ins continue.
These brick-and-mortar repairs may well be pushed down the priority list in the event of an epidemic -something which experts like former public health director Dr S Elango see as a high probability. "Let's be prepared for the worst," he told TOI. "It could be pretty bad with toxic chemicals and rotting carcasses in stagnant water."
Health secretary J Radhakrishnan said there was no epidemic, so far, and that the government is equipped with enough medicines.
While the government gathers its wits, on the surface, life was crawling back to normal. Buses plied, without charging commuters, but autorickshaw drivers returned to their fleecing ways as cabs remained off roads. Power supply was restored across the city but for a few patches where electrocution remained a danger.
Mobile phones crackled back to life and people were talking long hours sharing woes and exchanging hopes. ATMs opened to snaking queues, and petrol filling stations were back in business.On Monday , 40 flights took off from the city , and the airport promised to be back to fullfledged operation by Tuesday .
There were, still, concerns left behind by the receding flood. Students had lost their books, parents their ration cards and voter IDs. The government was quick to announce that special camps will be set up to issue these cards without the usual cumbersome processes.
Schools will remain closed at least till Wednesday . The state board exams had been postponed to January , but experts said students would need counselling to get over the trauma of the disaster.
As sun shone bright, flood-battered Chennai and its suburbs were today fast on course to normalcy with train and air services resuming after days of disruption due to unprecedented rains.
Waters have receded from most areas of the city ravaged by floods and the authorities have scrambled nearly 25,000 sanitary workers to clear the stinking garbage accumulated over the past several days to prevent outbreak of diseases.
http://armorgames.com/user/buybacklinkseo
Chennai Airport Director Deepak Shastri said the facility became fully functional this morning.
"Airport is functioning one hundred per cent. In fact, I am waiting for the schedule from private airlines," he said.
A total of 35 flights operated till around 5 pm although international services were yet to go on full steam. As many as 18 flights of state-owned and private carriers, arrived from various cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Goa among others, officials said.
Similarly, 17 flights to various destinations including Delhi, Mumbai, Port Blair and Bangalore took off, they said.
International flight operations commenced since 6 AM today. An Air India Express flight arrived at 10 am t ..
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