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Tiruchy ready to handle flood situation
The rivers Cauvery and Kollidam (Coleroon) along with several other minor rivers, jungle streams and the network of irrigation system, make the district flood-prone, especially during the northeast monsoon.
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Thiruchirapalli
With Cauvery and Kollidam rivers in full spate due to the southwest monsoon and the northeast monsoon expected to lash Tiruchy soon, the district administration has stepped up preparation to handle any flood situation in the district.
The sudden heavy discharge from the Kollidam river due to flow of excess water from Karnataka, resulted in inundation at a few low-lying areas on its northern banks in Tiruchy last week. In the impact, around 500 acre of banana plantation and a few acres of paddy were flooded.
The water flowing along a causeway near Grand Anaicut flooded the region between the Cauvery river and a high-level canal on the outskirts of the Tiruchy city.
The floods occurred after the discharge into the Cauvery from Mukkombu was increased from 30,067 to 32,000 cusecs, said official sources. The excess discharge may inundate the entire district and the city in particular, they feared. Subsequently, district Collector K Rajamani inspected the villages of Thiruvalarsolai, Uthamarseeli and Kilikoodu and instructed the Revenue officials to keep a close watch on the low-lying areas for swift action on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the discharge from Karnataka in the Cauvery river was reduced to 93,229 cusecs against the flow of 1.29 lakh cusecs in Mettur reservoir. However, the copious flow in Kollidam submerged some low-lying areas on the northern banks of the river, including around 10 to 15 houses in the region.
This has created a panic among the district residents who had experienced the flood in 2005. Tiruchy has witnessed quite a few major floods in the past several years. In the last century, the worst flood that the Tiruchy residents witnessed was in 1924. It ravaged several lives and washed away several houses. Another flood, in 1977, too had caused massive destruction in the district.
The rivers Cauvery and Kollidam (Coleroon) along with several other minor rivers, jungle streams and the network of irrigation system, make the district flood-prone, especially during the northeast monsoon. Tiruchy has witnessed floods in the years 1924, 1952, 1954, 1965, 1977, 1979, 1983, 1999, 2000 and in 2005.
However, the southwest monsoon, that doesn’t bring rainfall in Tiruchy, has surprisingly resulted in both Cauvery and Kollidam to flow in full spate, as it used to be during the northeast monsoon.
Water has started to flow across a causeway near Kilikoodu, inundating a few hundred acres of land used for banana and paddy cultivation. It also crossed the surface bridge near Kilikoodu and the district administration has sounded warning and even evacuated people to safer places.
Anticipating flood situations, the district administration has started preparing to handle crisis situations well in advance. The Disaster Management and Mitigation has identified 150 vulnerable areas and 156 safe shelters. Moreover, Revenue officials have been posted to monitor the situation.
“The vulnerability has been categorised as ‘very high’, ‘high’, ‘medium’ and ‘low’, of which Tiruchy East taluk has three very high vulnerable spots. We will keep a close vigil at such places,” said a Disaster Management and Mitigation department official. Similarly, the district administration is also in the process of removing the encroachments close to the inlet canals and have ensured to strengthen the banks of the rivers.
Meanwhile, Thanjavur district collector A Annadurai inspected Grand Anaicut and other canals which are taking a course from Cauvery. He checked the canal and Kollidam river for any possibilities of breach of the banks near Aalakkudi and Kalvirayanpettei.
Recall of 2005 flood
In 2005, the Cauvery breached its bank at Vengur near Tiruchy and the river overflowed at several places, inundating parts of Tiruchy. Kollidam (Coleroon) and several other rivers, including the Koraiyar, Ariyar and Kudamuritti rivers were also in spate that time. Srirangam was almost cut off from the city after there was a breach in the Cauvery river bank at Melur. Breaches in tanks and irrigations channels inundated thousands of hectares of agricultural fields, as crops, mostly paddy and banana, lay under floodwaters. About 10 km downstream Kudamuritti, the Cauvery breached its bank at Vengur, flooding Vengur, Natarajapuram, Arasankudi and other villages.
The Ayyaru, the Panguni Vaical and some other local channels also developed breaches, flooding nearby villages. Thuraiyur, Manachanallur, Lalgudi and Musiri were among the worst affected areas. Hundreds of villages remained totally cut off.
After the Cauvery, Uyyakondan, Kudamuritti and Koraiyur overflowed, waters entered the city at Mela Chinthamani. The Chathram bus stand, parts of Thillai Nagar and Anna Nagar were inundated. The floodwaters flowed up to the neighbouring St. Joseph’s College and Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College.
Floodwaters rose up to seven feet inside houses in several residential colonies off the Tiruchy-Madurai highway, Dindigul highway, Vayalur road, Kuzhumani road and Karur highway.
Ready for crisis
Tiruchy administration has started preparing for any crisis situation in the district
- Years Tiruchy witnessed flood: 1924, 1952, 1954, 1965, 1977, 1979, 1983, 1999, 2000 and 2005
- Number of vulnerable places in the district: 150
- Number of safe shelters in the district: 156
- Monitoring Committees have been established to keep a close vigil
- Swimmers’ and snake charmers’ list have been compiled along with their mobile numbers. They are advised to be ready round-the-clock
- Fire and rescue personnel and police are posted at vulnerable spots
- Pamphlets are being distributed and drummers are being used to make people aware
- Works are on for strengthening and monitoring the banks to avoid seepage
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