Indian officials probe negligence in deaths of 18 patients at height of

According to a home ministry release, the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) met here under Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha and reviewed the flood situation in Tamil Nadu, noting Chennai did not experience heavy rainfall since Friday and flood waters were receding.

Heavy rains have pounded several parts of Tamil Nadu including state capital Chennai severely affecting life and disrupting communications and transport system.

Indian authorities were investigating possible negligence after 18 hospital patients died when rainwaters from massive floods in southern Tamil Nadu state knocked out generators and switched off ventilators.

The National Disaster Response Force and armed forces have rescued more than 28,000 people and the personnel were now more engaged in relief work as need for rescue efforts has come down, said the statement, adding road connectivity has been restored, city bus service is functioning and power supply has been restored to more than 90 percent of the city.

Tens of thousands of people are still in relief camps Saturday as they wait for the floods to recede.

■ Thousands of people were rescued earlier in the week in a massive operation by the Indian Army and disaster management teams.

While the rains have paused, more than half of Chennai’s 859 city areas remain under water, officials, said raising the threat of disease and squalor in the flat, coastal city of six million. “The landline phones are not working”.

Radhakrishnan, the health secretary, said yesterday that while the immediate rescue operations were tapering off, the main focus of the administration in the coming days will be to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

Residents say the city authorities gave no warning that they were going to open overflowing reservoirs into the Adyar river, which led to sharp rise in water levels. “This is a concern”, he said.

“Day time all weather operations for domestic commercial flights from Chennai Airport will commence from tomorrow 6 AM i.e. on 6th December, 2015”.