Residents of an apartment in Motilal Street seek compensation

They list out the expenses they had incurred on account of the inundation in their locality

Shreebagh Flat Owners’ Association in Motilal Street in T. Nagar have demanded that either the State government or the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) pay them a compensation for the expenses they had incurred on account of the recent floods.

Their argument is that Motilal Street was inundated and the waters had invaded their houses due to the failure of the Greater Chennai Corporation to maintain the stormwater drains as well as lay roads with after proper milling. The residents’ association demands ₹11.55 lakh as compensation.

“Residents of the ground-floor of the apartment went through an ordeal. On November 7, at 5 a.m., water started entering the houses. Therefore, my 96-year-old mother who was staying in my brother’s house on the ground floor had to be moved to my house on the first floor. As there is no lift, my aged mother had to be carried,” says VS Jayaram, a resident of Motilal Street.

Jayaram informed the Tamil Nadu Generation & Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) to suspend the power supply as a precautionary measure.

“Rainwater surrounded the electricity meter boxes. Hence, we wanted TANGEDCO to suspend power. From November 7, there was no power supply. It was restored on November 12. We have to spend around ₹ 5 lakh to relocate the meter box to an elevated level,” says Jayaram.

With water entering the houses and no power, residents moved to their relatives’ houses and some checked into hotels.

To cite an example, S Ravichandran and his wife had to stay in a hotel for four to five days, incurring an expenditure of ₹20,000.

“Decades ago, the level of the road was four feet down from the apartment. Over the years, due to non-scrapping of existing surface while laying roads, the height of the road steadily increased. Further, the stormwater drains failed to deliver as they have not been desilted. At the intersection of Usman Road Service Lane and Motilal Street, water is unable to enter the stormwater drain as it is above the road level. This causes stagnation.”

Residents complain of damage to doors, repairing which will entail an additional expenditure. “Months ago, I gave a fresh coat of paint to my home. The rains have marred the painting and damaged the walls. Further, my laptop table too has been damaged,” says VS Narayanaswami. Residents pooled in money to pump out the water.

“From November 7 to 30, the association spent ₹1,75,000,” says Jayaram.

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