Flights, trains resume in flood-hit southern Indian city of Chennai

The southern Indian city of Chennai is finally limping back to normalcy, with domestic passenger flights and train services resuming on Sunday.

A senior aviation official said two domestic flights - one belonging to state-run Air India and another of the private airliner Jet Airways - took off from the Chennai airport.

"International flights are likely to resume from Tuesday, making the airport fully operational since it was shut due to water-logging caused by heavy rains since Friday night," he said.

"The airport is using the Indian Air Force's radar as its own radar as other navigation equipment have been damaged in the floods," he added.

In fact, nearly 35 aircraft got stranded at the airport since the runway was inundated at Chennai that handles more than 300 landings and take-off daily.

Train services - intra-state and inter-state - also resumed Sunday morning after being halted for four days. "Trains began operating from Egmore station and other stations," a railway official said.

Local TV channels showed the Indian Army carrying out rescue and relief operations, along with disaster management officials, while mobile phone operators have started resuming services.

Though rains have stopped for the time being, the weather department has predicted heavy showers in the next 24 hours due to a new trough of depression in the Bay of Bengal.

"While water has receded from large parts of the city, the next 24 hours will be crucial as rains are expected again," a weather official said. Endit