Monsoon boosts water levels in Pillur, Siruvani, Bhavani Sagar dams

COIMBATORE: As rains continued to pound Coimbatore with intermittent breaks, the Pillur dam reached its brim, flooding the Bhavani River in Mettupalayam.

Around 4 pm on Monday, the Pillur dam had a storage of 96 feet as against its full reservoir level of 100 feet. The entire inflow of 10,515 cusecs was discharged from the dam. On Sunday night, all four sluices were opened to release around 15,000 cusecs of water.

District Collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar, who inspected the flooded Bhavani River in Mettupalayam, said that State Disaster Response Forces (SDRF) teams have been deployed in Mettupalayam, Sirumugai and Pillur dam areas to attend to emergencies.

“Those living in 17 houses along the banks of the river were sheltered in safe places. People were barred from venturing into the river to bathe and catch fish,” he said.

A flood alert has been issued to people living along the banks of the river, asking them to move to safety. The Siruvani Dam recorded an increase in its water level by four feet from 22 feet on Sunday to 26 feet on Monday, as against its full reservoir level of 50 feet.

Similarly, the Bhavani Sagar Dam in Erode received a surge in its inflow due to rains. From 4,367 cusecs on Sunday, 4 pm, the inflow into the dam rose steadily to 16,572 cusecs on Monday, 4 pm. The dam’s storage also went up by two feet from 70.62 feet against its full reservoir level of 105 feet on Sunday evening to 73.02 feet on Monday evening.

Minister for Housing, Prohibition, and Excise S Muthusamy, who inspected a damaged house in Madukkarai, said that eight houses were damaged in the district. “Efforts have been taken by the district administration to distribute a compensation of Rs 25.5 lakhs to farmers, who lost their plantains. Rain damage was minimal due to precautionary measures,” he said.