Chennai floods: Indian newspaper The Hindu not published for first time in 137 years

None of the staff members could reach the printing press, says publisher

The Hindu, India’s one of the oldest newspapers, was not published on Wednesday for the first time in 137 years due to heavy downpour and flooding in Chennai.

The paper, famous for its history of objective journalism since 1878, did not get printed on Wednesday as its employees could not reach the printing press.

Headquartered in Chennai, The Hindu is published in 17 other cities of India.



Paper’s publisher N Murali said 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. It is located about 30kms (18 miles) from the city in Maraimalainagar," Murali said.

"The printing press plant is large so we put it up outside the city. Even if we had printed the paper, I doubt if it could have been distributed in the city," he added.

Still, other publications such as the Times of India, the Deccan Chronicle and the New Indian Express were published but it was not ascertained if they could reach their readers.

With the army deployed in the city to rescue flood-hit people, school and colleges have been shut in six districts owing to the heavy downpour.

The article originally appeared in BBC News