The heavy rains which lashed from Saturday night subsided in the district on Wednesday though the main rivers were still reported to be overflowing. The initial estimate of the total damage to the standing crops was Rs. 5.3 crore affecting 2,340 farmers, as per the data available with the control room.
One tribal from Maryur died due to the landslip which destroyed his house on Sunday. No other fatality due to the rain was reported till Wednesday. The major land-slip hit areas were Kalkunthal, Parathode, Udumbanchola and Vathikudy.
The main bridges that are damaged have affected traffic on the main roads at Mele Chinnar and one on the Kattappana-Pampadumpara route. The repair works on the damaged roads were started though the service of buses and heavy vehicles had been diverted through alternative routes, said an official at the control room. The loss to the Public Works Department was estimated at Rs. 1.50 crore.
About 150 houses were partially damaged and another 24 houses completely destroyed in the heavy monsoon.
“With the weather returning to normal, no fresh cases of damage on Wednesday was reported,” said the official and added that the figures of the damage were after the primary estimate and a final report will be submitted to the government in a few days.Meanwhile, damage to houses and loss to standing crops were also being reported to panchayats by people residing in the respective areas. Vattavada grama panchayat which is known for winter cultivation of vegetables reported a loss of Rs. 70 lakh to standing crops. Land slips also occurred in the panchayat in addition to crop loss in the low-lying areas due to water-logging. The flood has also destroyed large areas of vegetable cultivation in the tribal-resettled areas of Labbakkandam in the Periyar Tiger Reserve area.
Water level rises in Idukki Dam
Though the rains declined in the catchment areas of the Idukki reservoir, there was good inflow of water in the Periyar, said a senior official of the Dam Monitoring Cell at Cheuthoni. The rain reported in the catchment area on Wednesday was 9 mm. The water level in the reservoir was 2,375.94 ft against 2,358.78 ft on the corresponding day last year. With the close down of the three generators at the Moolamattom power house for repair work (with the total capacity of 780 M.W of the six generators) the total power generated was 3.4 MU (million unit) on Wednesday. After the monsoon started, the consumption of power has gone down with a total average of 4.2 MU reported in the State, said an official of the KSEB at the power house.
