Building turns island of refuge for MGR kin

11.12.2015, CHENNAI: After the Adyar breached on December 2 and inundated most localities along its banks including Manapakkam, some with water up to two storeys high, one apartment complex was an island of strength — among those it protected were residents of the neighbourhood, 110 rescued deaf and mute children and stranded relatives of former actor and chief minister M G Ramachandran.

Even the parking area of 100-plus apartment complex on Mount Poonamalee Road, 'Vijay By Ten Square', was dry though the floodwaters spread in every direction from the building. Firemen in boats rescued more than 300 residents of area and took them to the complex.

Those rescued included 110 special children from a school on a property once owned by MGR. Relatives of the former chief minister, who live across the road, also took refuge in the complex after the floods submerged one floor of their home and washed away several mementos.

After rescuing many people from the vicinity, a 20-member team of firemen with boats took shelter in the apartment, said R Balamurugan, joint secretary of the apartment owners' association. Four members of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), out to shut power in the area to prevent electrocution in rain, were also caught in the flood and made straight for the apartment.

"The apartment complex was saved from inundation as its ground floor is at least 6ft higher than the road outside," he said.

Since the association had stocked diesel and rations, the people who took shelter in the apartment did not go hungry either. There was power through the day and the association served the 300 rescued people food for two days, Balamurugan said.

The association opened some vacant flats in the complex to the refugees and provided them with blankets and mattresses to sleep.