Rains wreak havoc in Nilgiris, traffic worst hit

Various residential neighbourhoods in Udhagamandalam and Coonoor also drowned into darkness since Wednesday night due to heavy rains. As many as three trees fell on the Udhagamandalam to Gudalur Road blocking traffic for a while. The Highways Department officials engaged earth movers to clear the fallen trees and pave way for traffic. Similarly, the vehicle movement came to a grinding halt on the busy Mettupalayam to Coonoor Road after a truck developed a snag enroute and stopped blocking the way on Thursday. 

Hence, the stretch was made one way. Even as it was still raining, the police had a tough time diverting vehicles bound to Coimbatore to take a detour through Kotagiri to proceed further. Besides the traffic hurdles, several of the low lying areas got flooded due to heavy rains. Officials said that they received complaints of water logging in areas like Ketti Palada. Also, large tracts of farm areas came under water. 

The district received an average of 27.61 millimeters in the last 24 hours till Thursday morning, while more than 100 millimeters were recorded in Avalanche. There were also good rains in Kundah, Glenmorgan, Pandalur, Upper Gudalur and Naduvattam. 

Intermittent rains have been lashing the district over the last few days and its intensity increased since Wednesday night. The district administration and the Fire and Rescue Service Department officials claimed that they have been in a state of full preparedness to tackle any emergency due to rains.