Rain continues to lash Valparai; schools shut

For the second day in succession, District Collector TN Hariharan declared holiday for all the schools in the rain-hit Valparai area, that is lashed by rains from June 22. As even daily routine has been hampered, the search for the unidentified boy who was washed away by the flooded Koolangal River in Valparai proved even more difficult. 

Though the search operation continued for the second day on Wednesday, police said they could not locate his body despite a search launched downstream on the banks of the river for nearly 25 km till the Sholayar Dam. Added to it, closure of schools affected the efforts to identify the missing boy, as the police said that they could not verify with the school’s attendance and records. 

According to Ebenezer (50), a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation driver from Valparai, around 11 am on Tuesday, he saw a boy in school uniform being washed away by the swollen river waters. Based on his statement, police, fire and rescue services personnel launched a search.  Coimbatore district police sources said that they were yet to receive any boy missing complaint from any estate in Valparai or its nearby estates till Wednesday evening. 

On Wednesday, the police from Valparai, Mudis, Sheikal Mudis and Kadambarai police stations started inquiring the estate labourers and the staff to check if any boy was missing. But, their efforts were in vain. The 24-hours-rainfall recorded in the district from Tuesday morning to Wednesday showed that Valparai had received the highest rainfall in the district. Rainfall recorded in the district is as follows: Chinnakallar – 125 mm, Cincona – 102 mm, Valparai PAP – 99 mm and Valparai taluk Office – 98 mm.