Caritas rushes emergency aid to flood-ravaged Tamil Nadu
New Delhi (Matters India): Caritas India, the aid agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, has dispatched some 2.5 million rupees as emergency fund to Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state battered by the century’s worst floods.
Amrit Sangma, Caritas India communication officer, told Matters India on November 2 that the, will provide food, wash kits and clothes to affected people with the support of its four local partners.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been stranded in Tamil Nadu following incessant rains for the past two days. Meteorological Department in the state has predicted heavy rains in the coming four days. More than 200 have been killed in flood and rain related incidents, local newspapers report.
“Based on general understanding in such situations, our effort will be to bring these basic support to neediest families who may be sheltered in school buildings and other government managed camps,” Caritas India Executive Director Fr. Frederick D’Souza, said in a statement.
To begin with, the relief will be concentrated majorly in the three districts of Kanchipuram, Vilupuram and Thiruvallur. Need assessment report in the coming days will further navigate the five member Caritas team assembling tomorrow in the state that is grappling with rain-fed floods for quite some time now, he added.
Meanwhile, authorities have shut the Chennai airport for operations until December 6 and converted the Rajali Naval air station near Arakonam, about 70 km from the Tamil Nadu capital, into a make-shift airport for commercial flights.
No flight has taken off or landed at the Chennai airport since Tuesday evening, with water on the runway as the city remains flooded due to heavy rain.
50 trains have also been cancelled, with water flooding rail tracks.
Chennai’s Infotech hub was shut down Wednesda morning following heavy flooding. Most companies are struggling to get the stranded employees home safely.
The city is a major IT outsourcing hub for companies including Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Cognizant Technology Solutions.
In a statement, IT major Infosys said they were closing the campuses as a “precautionary measure”.
“The flooding at the Mahindra City campus has been caused by some neighboring lakes overflowing following the incessant rain,” the statement read. “At Infosys, the safety of our employees is priority and we have made necessary transport arrangements to get employees home safely.”
Unconfirmed reports said the water has reached the first floor of the Accenture office.
Cognizant, which has its largest office in Chennai with 60,000 people across 11 facilities in the city, said some of its employees have stayed back in office to support critical services while some have travelled to other cities to support operations.
IT major Tata Consultancy Services said that its offices in Chennai are also shut today and “the strong business continuity plans ensure that there is no impact on business.”
The company said that all its employee are safe and there is no water logging in any of its offices.
Airtel said that its services have also been partially disrupted due to power failure and the company is working with local authorities to restore them.
The premier Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, has been completely flooded since last evening. There is no power in the campus.
Anna University too, has been struggling with power outage.
The city’s schools have been forced to close and exams have been postponed at least for this week. University exams have also been postponed.
The rains – a result of the returning monsoon and a huge depression in the area — will continue for a week, the met department has warned.
