Hills to plains, rain batters all in west TN

A flood alert has been issued to people residing on the banks of river Bhavani in Mettupalayam following heavy discharge from Pillur dam on Monday.

As the dam reached its brim, following good inflow due to heavy rains in its catchments, the discharge has been increased to 18,000 cusecs.

From 87 feet on Sunday, the water storage level increased to 97 feet as against its full capacity of 100 feet on Monday. 

The inflow, which stood at 3,636 cusecs at 6 am in the morning, increased to 10,000 cusecs at 11 am and further to 15,000 cusecs.

As the water increased steadily, the four sluice gates of the dam were opened discharging about 18,000 cusecs around 12 noon. 

As the Bhavani river is in spate, people living on the banks of the river such as Mettupalayam and Sirumugai were asked to move to safer regions by Revenue Department officials.

“They were cautioned not to venture into the river or attempt to cross it,” said K Rajamani, District Collector, Coimbatore. However, despite warnings, people thronged the river banks.

Similarly, the Noyyal River was in full spate due to heavy rains in Coimbatore. A temporary causeway in Perur was submerged, forcing people bound to Vedapatty, Nagarajapuram and its surrounding areas to take a longer route. Tourists were barred from entering Kovai Kutralam due to heavy flooding.

In Coimbatore, the skies remained cloudy with intermittent downpour since Monday morning.

Heavy rains lashed the Nilgiris for the second consecutive day and the Nilgiris District Collector Innocent Divya, declared holiday for schools and colleges in Gudalur, Pandalur and Kundah taluks on Monday.

Heavy overflow of the Pandiyar river, Moyar river and other streams flowing down O-Valley in Gudalur. Fire and rescue personnel were alerted to attend emergencies.

The Tangedco officials expressed hope that the water storage levels at Emerald, Avalanche, Parsons Valley, Kundah and Pykara dams will go up if rain continues for the next couple of days.

Several trains departed from Mandapam railway station instead of Rameswaram as strong winds in Pamban region. The origin point of trains was rescheduled to travelling on the bridge over the sea. 

Train services, which were cancelled for three days, resumed their usual route through Madurai to Chennai and Tirupati. Since the wind velocity was recorded at 58 kmph, conditions remained averse to operate trains on the Pamban rail bridge.

According to a statement from Southern Railway of Madurai Division on Monday, Rameswaram - Chennai Egmore (daily) express train (16852) left Mandapam station as per schedule at 5 pm while Rameswaram - Tirupati (tri-weekly) express train (16780) departed from Mandapam at 4 pm. The Madurai - Rameswaram passenger train (56721) left Madurai at 12.15 pm to Mandapam. In the return direction, Rameswaram - Madurai passenger train (56726) departed from Mandapam at 6 pm. To help passengers reach Rameswaram from Mandapam, special transport arrangements were made by the railway officials.

Fishing operations remain suspended for the fourth consecutive day on Monday as the weather continued to be rough in the sea. 

The entire fishing fleet in coastal districts of Thoothukudi, Ramanathapuram and Kanniyakumari remain moored.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted wind velocity would be in the range of 40 to 50 kmph for the next 48 hours from Monday for the entire coast of Tamil Nadu.

Citing safety measures, permit tokens were not given by Fisheries Department in Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram districts.

Fishermen and coastal residents were advised to be cautious in the wake of high wind velocity in Kanniyakumari district.

The IMD also predicted that tidal waves up to a height of three to four metres would hit the coast. 

While Ramanathapuram has a total fleet of 1,520 mechanized boats, it was around 1,200 in Kanniyakumari district and 450 in Thoothukudi.

Besides, several thousands of country crafts in these coastal districts also remained on the shores owing to rough weather.