Chennai could not take it. Yes, the unseasonal rains that battered the City threw life out of gear in Chennai and its suburbs. According to the Meteorological Centre, during the first three weeks of this month, the city received 126 mm i.e., 25 times the normal rainfall.

Houses in several low-level areas were submerged. Many parts of the city were flooded. Rain water stagnated on several roads. Subways were inundated. Even the so-called Main Roads turned messy. Stagnant pools remained, days after Friday�s deluge.

Underground sewerage project work is on in many areas. They are moving at a very slow pace. The rain added to the agony of the road users. Poor patchworks have resulted in the formation of huge craters. Pedestrians are the worst affected.

Every time there is a shower, this is what happens. One does not understand what the City administration is doing. The writer has been, for the past four decades watching with anguish the misery of the city-dwellers whenever there is a cloudburst. Should the metro float after every spell of rain? The drainage system seldom works. Roads are dug and the work goes on at snail�s pace. Life is difficult even without rains. With a spell of seasonal or as it happened now, unseasonal rain, life comes to a stand still. High time our city managers woke up to the reality and took some permanent measures to put a stop to the never-ending agony of the residents.