No response on helplines a concern

No response on helplines a concern

Saranya.Chakrapani@timesgroup.com

12.11.2021

Days after the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) released helpline numbers to reach people in inundated neighbourhoods, and appointed senior IAS officers to oversee relief work, complaints are cropping up on how calls are not being followed up on, or responded to.

Rama Prabhakar, a resident of Mandaiveli’s Srinivasan Street, woke up to almost three feet of water flooding the road outside her home on Thursday. It entered the ground floor of their apartment in no time, ruining furniture and electronics devices. The family says they lodged a complaint on GCC’s Namma Chennai app in the morning and called their helpline 1913 soon after that. “They answered our calls and acknowledged our complaint, but didn’t follow up.

“By afternoon, their lines had gone busy and we had to pump out the water ourselves, when the rains subsided,” says Rama.

Several residents also alleged that they were asked to wait until the rain subsided before water could be pumped out of their homes. Angry residents in neighbourhoods like Korattur and Shanmugam Pillai Street in Mylapore said that their homes were inundated with sewage-contaminated rainwater and no action was taken despite persistent calls to the GCC helpline. Yamini Thirumaran, a resident of Perumal Mudali Street in Royapettah said that she had shared photos of an uninhabited bungalow’s compound wall that had broken into their premises and a large broken tree branch that was precariously hanging over their roof, with the local IAS officer, but never heard back. “When we called 1913, our complaint was brushed off,” she said. While the ‘100’ Police helpline too remained busy for most part of the day, in neighbourhoods like Teynampet and parts of south Chennai like Sholinganallur, GCC and supervising officials were appreciated for being prompt with complaints.

The Tangedco helpline 9498794987 too came under attack on Thursday, after residents from various parts of the city alleged that they were unable to reach them throughout the day.

Deputy Commissioner of Education, D Sneha, from the control room, said inundation around distribution transformers prevented them from restoring power in some neighbourhoods. She added that these areas are being prioritised.

RESIDENTS SAID WHEN THEY CALLED HELPLINES, THEY WERE ASKED TO WAIT UNTIL THE RAIN SUBSIDED