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Chennai, Oct 28 (IANS) With Cyclone Montha moving closer to the Andhra Pradesh coast and heavy rains lashing entire northern Tamil Nadu, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Tuesday inspected the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Command and Control Center at Ripon Building to assess the city’s preparedness.
Along with senior corporation and revenue department officials, Udhayanidhi Stalin reviewed real-time data from the centre, which works round the clock to monitor rainfall intensity across the city, vehicle movement in subways and water levels in canals, rivers and estuaries through surveillance cameras.
Officials briefed him about the city’s flood mitigation measures, including pre-deployed motor pumps, desilting of storm water drains and preparedness of emergency rescue teams.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Montha, centered about 480 km east of Chennai, is likely to cross the coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam around Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh by Tuesday night.
Although the system is expected to bring only moderate to heavy rainfall over Tamil Nadu, the state government has stepped up preparations to deal with any possible flooding or damage to infrastructure in low-lying areas.
During the inspection, the Deputy Chief Minister also reviewed the functioning of the grievance redressal system through 1913 helpline and social media platforms.
He directed officials to ensure that all complaints related to waterlogging, fallen trees or damage to infrastructure are immediately sent to zonal officers and resolved without any delay.
As part of precautionary measures, the GCC has kept 215 relief centers on standby with food, water and medical supplies. More than 2,000 high-capacity motor pumps have been deployed at flood-prone locations, while 457 tree cutters have been deployed to remove uprooted trees. The Chennai Metro Water and Sewerage Board has also kept 2,149 field staff on standby.
The state government has announced that all district administrations on the north coast have been put on alert, with rescue teams of NDRF and SDRF already deployed in sensitive areas.
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea and a holiday has been declared in schools in Chennai and Tiruvallur as a precautionary measure. Officials said the situation will continue to be monitored from the control center until the cyclone weakens completely after making landfall.
–IANS
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