IANS/Chennai

With prices of vegetables shooting up, the Tamil Nadu government yesterday launched 11 mobile vegetable shops in 32 localities.
In a statement issued here, the state government said due to the rains vegetable supplies have come down resulting in the prices going up.
In order to reach vegetables to the common man and also bring down the prices, 11 mobile vegetable shops will be operated in 32 localities in Chennai, the government said.
The mobile shops will be operated in Saidapet, Anna Nagar, T Nagar, Nungambakkam, Teynampet, Mylapore, Kodambakkam, Royapettah, Gopalapuram, Tondaiarpet and other localities.
The government on Friday had announced that people could travel free of cost in the city buses between December 5 and 8.
Meanwhile, fear of fuel shortage has resulted in long queues at petrol stations across the city.
A worker at a petrol station in South Chennai said that fresh supplies were expected in two days.
He also said they had to clean the underground fuel tanks as flood water had entered them.
With the state reeling under the worst floods in a century, actors Siddharth and R J Balaji, popular among Tamil audiences, turned out to help the people.
Siddharth was one of the victims of the rains. His house in the city was submerged, but that didn’t stop him from stepping out and helping those in need.
Along with Balaji, who is also a popular radio jockey, the Rang De Basanti star formed teams to help stranded people in different parts of the city.
People came forward and lent their cars which were used to rescue people from the flooded areas.
Siddharth was soon joined by actors Vishnu Vishal, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Karthi, Khushbu Sundar and Vishal Krishna Reddy. Popular multiplexes like SPI Cinemas and AGS Cinemas opened their doors to offer shelter.
The two-member team grew bigger with the support of many volunteers, mostly common people.
“It was heartening to see Siddharth and Balaji come out and help people. We were touched by their gesture and thus wanted to help too,” Ram Kumar, who joined Siddharth and his team of volunteers, said.
The teams went around the city collecting food packets, 50 to 100 per batch, and other essentials and getting them delivered to people.
Social media played a pivotal role, helping the city to get back on its feet.
Rescue and relief operations were carried out with the help of Twitter. Since most telecommunication networks took a hit due to the heavy downpour, people used the social media platform to reach out to one another.
From updating people about the situation on the ground to tracking somebody’s whereabouts with the website chennairains.org collating all information, social media played a big role.
Support also came from maestro Ilayaraja who, on learning that the Little Flower Convent for visually challenged, deaf and mute children was under 4ft of water, immediately paid a visit.
The 72-year-old insisted on meeting the children, despite being warned of the high water level.
With life yet to return to normal in the state, these stars continue to work round-the-clock doing their bit to help those in need.