Heavy inflow in Palar submerges ground-level causeways in Vellore

VELLORE: Workers bound for tanneries from the Vellore district side of the Palar River over the ground level causeway at Pachakuppam, 8 km from Ambur had to travel an additional 12 km as the causeway was submerged for the fifth time this year due to heavy flows in Palar on Monday.

The Palar catchment areas in Andhra Pradesh receiving good rain resulted in the check dam on Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border at Pullur surplussing heavily into the Palar. This water in turn submerged the causeway, according to local resident Veeraraghavan.

“Another causeway at Madanur, which connects Gudiyattam at Ulli village, on which the ground level was raised some time ago, might face a similar plight if the current increased inflow continues,” said Ulli village resident and TN Green champion award winning activist G Srikanth.

The regular submerging and increased flow, which makes local traffic take a costly 15 km detour has resulted in the increasing demand for conversion of such causeways into regular bridges, he added.

Police and revenue officials posted at both ends of the raging river are currently preventing movement of locals across the submerged causeway through handheld PA systems, officials said.

Though Vellore district did not receive much rain, good downpour in neighboring areas has resulted in excess water flowing into the Palar, officials said. About 700 cubic feet of water was being released from the Mordana dam near Gudiyattam resulting in flow increasing in the Kaundanya river which bifurcates the Gudiyattam town. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed hoping for the best as increased flow will submerge the low-level bridge across this river resulting in traffic having to be diverted across the Kamaraj bridge which witnessed heavy traffic jams Palar catchment areas when this happened a couple of months ago.