With several parts of Chennai and its suburbs being crippled due to the impact of Cyclone Michaung, elected representatives in some places have had to face anger from the public who were denied access to electricity, milk or water for several days due to flooding.
Speaking to The Hindu, DMK’s Thousand Lights MLA Ezhilan Naganathan, who has been seen visibly available to tend to his constituents, said that he too had encountered “angry people”, but accessibility and visibility of the people’s representatives on the ground makes a huge difference in reassuring those who are bearing the brunt of the rains.
“Just as the National Health Service (publicly-funded healthcare system) in the United Kingdom has become an electoral issue, flood mitigation in Chennai, too, will become an electoral issue in future,” he acknowledged.
