Rains batter Chennai, suburbs, Met office attributes to cumulonimbus clouds, convective activity

Chennai, Oct 18 (UNI) Heavy rains battered Chennai and its suburbs and in North costal districts last night with a few areas receving a staggering spell in excess of 30 cms, even as Met office attributed it to convective activity while denying any localised cloudburst. The rains which began last night, gained in intensity and continued all through the night and till early on Sunday morning, inundating several areas and government premises including Income Tax and HR and CE department offices. Civic workers were pressed into service ever since the rains started and they were engaged in draining out the…