Rain fury leaves Nilgiris hamlets powerless

As rains continued unabated, schools and colleges in Ooty, Gudalur, Pandalur and Kundah taluks were declared a holiday for the third consecutive day on Wednesday. On the Ooty highway, a portion of the road fractured following a landslip. Following this, vehicles were restricted to one side of the road, resulting in traffic hurdles.

Several residential neighbourhoods, including ‘Coco Kaadu’, the First and Second Mile areas in Gudalur were flooded from the torrential downpour. Plantain and other crops raised in fields were submerged in these areas.

As water level continued to rise steadily, stranded residents began to vacate their houses with their belongings, and moved into houses of their relatives for safety. Meanwhile, a boulder rolled down the Ooty-Edakkad Road, thereby blocking it. It was later removed by the Highways department using men and machinery. Minor landslips were reported in a few others areas.

While tourist spots wore a deserted look due to continuous downpour, boating was suspended at the Ooty Boat House. Several interior villages in the district were drowned in darkness from power disruptions following trees getting uprooted. Revenue Division Officer Raj Kumar issued an advisory to people living in low-lying areas to move to safer regions. Temporary shelters have been kept ready at Thorapalli, Puthurvayal, Second Mile and other areas to accommodate people affected by the rains, he said.

Meanwhile, the flood alert issued remains as River Bhavani is in spate due to heavy discharge from Pillur dam. As the dam reached its full reservoir level on Wednesday following good inflow due to heavy rains in its catchments for the third consecutive day, the discharge from the reservoir has been increased to 20,000 cusecs. The dam, which received an inflow of 9775 cusecs at 6 am, suddenly rose to 20,000 cusecs at 10 am, and hence the entire quantity was released through the four sluice gates of the dam.

With the Bhavani river in full spate, people living on the banks of the river in areas such as Mettupalayam and Sirumugai were asked to move to safer regions. The heavy flow of water has marooned the Bhavani Amman temple in Mettupalayam. Meanwhile, intermittent rains were received in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts.

Moderate rainfall recordedin southern districts

Madurai: Several parts of the southern districts in the State also received moderate rainfall from the Southwest monsoon on Wednesday. In Kanniyakumari district, the highest amount of rainfall was recorded in Surulode with 16.2 mm and Palamore standing next with 15.2 mm. Among 24 rain gauge stations, rainfall was recorded in 18 such stations, PWD sources said. In the wake of continuous rainfall over the last two days, Tirparappu waterfalls witnessed a considerable amount of flow, cheering tourists.

However, rains lashing the Western Ghats bordering Tirunelveli district forced water to flow over the ring in the ‘Main Falls’ in Courtallam, preventing tourists to go near the waterfalls. Adequate police personnel were also deployed tourists to restricted them from approaching the waterfalls.

Meanwhile, catchment areas experienced a considerable amount of rainfall, registering 68 mm in Karuppanadhi, 50 mm in Adavinainar, 42 mm in Sengottai, 38 mm in Tenkasi, 27 mm in Papanasam, 22 mm in Servalar, 21 mm in Gundaru and 15 mm in Kodumudiyaru.

Owing to the downpour, water level in Papanasam increased by two feet and by three feet in Servalar dam as on Wednesday morning. According to a weather forecast issued at 5 pm on Wednesday, fishermen were warned not to venture into the sea for the next twenty-four hours. As per the bulletin, strong winds from southwest direction could blow with a velocity of 40-50 kilometres per hour for a period of four days from Wednesday, and is likely to prevail over central and southwest Arabian sea area.