TIRUCHY: The mild to heavy rains across the Delta region from late hours of Friday threw normal life out of gear, while farmers claimed that the shower was beneficial for the standing summer crops, including pulses, peanuts and maize.
As predicted by the IMD, the rains commenced from Friday evening in a few districts in the Delta region, and continued till Saturday morning. While scattered rainfall was reported in districts like Perambalur and Ariyalur, both urban and rural pockets in Tiruchy, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai and Nagapattinam districts received heavy rainfall throughout the day.
In Thanjavur, Budalur received the maximum rainfall of 5.2 cm, while Thanjavur received 1.6 cm of rainfall. Similarly, in Tiruchy, Devimangalam received 2.58 cm of rainfall till Saturday morning, while Pullambadi received 1.14 cm and Lalgudi received 1.06 cm of rainfall.
The urban areas in Tiruchy also received widespread rainfall, with water stagnating in several places, causing inconvenience to motorists.
In the meantime, the Mayiladuthurai district received heavy rainfall throughout the day, with Mayiladuthurai town receiving 2.3 cm of rainfall. Similarly, Nagapattinam town received 2.12 cm of rainfall, while Tirumayam and Aranthangi in Pudukkottai district received 2.5 cm and 2 cm of rainfall, respectively. And Kudavasal in Tiruvarur received the maximum rainfall in the district with 2.34 cm.
The farmers heaved a sigh of relief, stating that the timely rain would be beneficial for the standing summer crops. In some places, the farmers had already completed the summer paddy cultivation, and in other regions, cultivation of the manavari crops like pulses, peanuts and maize had started.
Heavy overnight rain in Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts has increased inflow into dams and raised water levels.
In Tirunelveli, heavy rain continued Friday overnight and lasted till early Saturday morning. The highest rainfall in Tirunelveli district was recorded at Oothu in the Manjolai tea estate area with 17 cm. As a result, inflow into Papanasam and Manimuthar dams increased. The water level in the 143-ft-high Papanasam dam stood at 44 ft. Inflow, which was 100 cusecs the previous day, increased to 215 cusecs yesterday. The water level in the 156-ft-high Servalar dam stood at 57 ft.
The water level in the 118-ft-high Manimuthar dam stood at 75½ ft, with inflow increasing to 100 cusecs. Inflow has also started into Kodumudiyar and North Pachaiyar dams.
As heavy rain lashed the Western Ghats region in Tenkasi district, Adavinainar and Gundar dams, Sengottai, Aykudi and Tenkasi received widespread rainfall. The water level in the 84-ft-high Gadananathi dam stood at 32 ft. Ten cusecs of water are being released for irrigation. The water level in the 84-ft-high Ramanathi dam stood at 25 ft.
At the 72-ft-high Karuppanathi dam, inflow was 88 cusecs. The water level rose from 24 ft to 33 ft within a day. Gundar dam level rose by 3 ft to 17½ ft. The 132-ft-high Adavinainar dam level rose by 7 ft to 28 ft with an inflow of 27 cusecs.