Chennai: The Madras high court on Tuesday came down hard on the Greater Chennai Corporation over the inundation caused in the city due to the ongoing downpour, saying citizens “cry for water” in the first half of the year and die “due to water” (flooding) in the latter part.
“For half of the year, we are made to cry for water (apparently due to shortage) and for another half we are made to die in water,” the first bench of chief justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu said while entertaining a Public Interest Litigation today.
The bench was finding fault with the civic body in its efforts to prevent inundation in the city during the recent rains. It has failed in its attempts to mitigate the sufferings of the affected people due to the water-logging because of the incessant rains.
“What the authorities were doing for the past five years after the 2015 deluge?”, the bench wondered and warned the officials that it would not hesitate to initiate (contempt) proceedings if the situation is not improved within a week.
The PIL was against the encroachments on public roads and to restore their original length and breadth.
Many parts of the city and its suburbs are under sheets of water following the incessant rains on Sunday, causing much hardship to the residents.
(PTI)