Chennai Floods: The Hindu Didn’t Get Published For The First Time In 137 Years

The southern city of Chennai (Madras) has been crippled by what authorities are describing as the worst rain in a century. The rains have left the city submerged. Essential services like trains, flights, and busses have also been brought to a halt and hundreds of people are without electricity due to incessant rains. And India’s one of the oldest newspapers, The Hindu, bore the brunt too.

The Hindu Didn’t Get Published For The First Time due to chennai rains (6)

The Hindu, published daily since 1878, did not come out on Wednesday due to heavy rains and floods in Chennai. The paper has not been printed for the first time in 137 years as workers could not access the press.

The paper’s publisher N Murali said that it was the first time this had happened. “Our Maraimalainagar Township was not accessible for the people who run the plant. So, none of our staff could reach the plant.  The printing press plant is large so we put it up outside the city. It is located about 30kms (18 miles) from the city in Maraimalainagar. Even if we had printed the paper, I doubt if it could have been distributed in the city.” Murali said.

The Hindu Didn’t Get Published For The First Time due to chennai rains (2)

‘The Hindu’ website published a disclaimer stating, “Consequent to the heavy rain, print editions of The Hindu dated December 2, 2015, in Chennai, Vellore, Puducherry and Tirupati have been cancelled after taking into consideration the safety of those in the distribution network. However, the Chennai edition has been uploaded online in PDF format for the benefit of our readers.”

Other city newspapers like the Times of India, the Deccan Chronicle and the New Indian Express were printed, although it is unclear if they had reached readers in the city.

The Hindu Didn’t Get Published For The First Time due to chennai rains (1)

Meanwhile, the army has been deployed to rescue thousands of stranded people after two days of heavy rains. Flights from the city’s airport have been indefinitely suspended after flood waters entered the runway and tarmac areas on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, movement of railway traffic in Chennai was severely affected by the continuing downpour. Schools and colleges have been shut in six districts due to the rains.

May Chennai stay safe in these tough times!

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