Coimbatore
The district administration on Thursday sounded a flood alert for downstream villages in the Nilgiris following the discharge of surplus water from Pykara dam. Apart from the dam which has reached its full level, all major water bodies have also been filling up fast due to the incessant rains lashing the district for the past three days.
The dam reached its full reservoir level of 100 feet and was overflowing following incessant rains in its catchment areas. Around 1,200 cusecs of water was being discharged through three sluices resulting in flooding in Pykara falls.
The surplus water released from Pykara dam flows into Moyar and Thengumarada and then reaches Bhavani river.
District Collector Innocent Divya has ordered people living on the banks of Glenmorgan, Moyar Masinagudi and Thengumarada to move to safer places. The Collector has also warned against people venturing into the river to wash clothes and fishing. Villagers were also asked to avoid taking photographs by standing near the waters. In addition, the surplus water of 1,060 cusecs from Glenmorgan and 600 cusecs from Mukurthi reservoirs were also released on Thursday. The hill district received heavy rains accompanied by strong winds all through the night on Wednesday.
A huge tree at Ooty Panchayat Union Office was uprooted and fell on two cars parked on Wenlock Road. Also, overhead electric cables were snapped in the incident. On receiving information, the fire and rescue personnel rushed to the spot and removed the fallen tree.
Similarly, the Pillur dam near Mettupalayam in Coimbatore too reached its full reservoir level of 100 feet around 9 am on Thursday following good inflow over the last two days. Water discharge from the dam, which stood at 8,000 cusecs on Thursday morning, may surge further if inflow increases,triggering a flood threat along the river banks.
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