Paddy cultivated in thousands of hectares in Tiruvavur, Madurai and Thanjavur was flooded after heavy rain lashed these districts. In Tiruvarur alone 10,000 hectares are under water while 6,000 hectares are submerged in Thanjavur. In Madurai, the crop cultivated in 1,800 hectares was inundated.
A 55-year-old woman was killed in a wall collapse at Sathanur village in Tiruvavur district, and 13 cattle were reported to have been killed. Tiruvavur District Collector M. Chandrasekaran inspected breaches in canals and instructed the PWD engineers to take corrective measures.
Thanjavur Collector M.S.Shanmugam said one lakh sand bags were kept ready in case of breaches in canals. Holiday has been declared for schools and colleges in both the districts on Monday. In various rain-related incidents in Madurai district, 10 people had died and 302 dwellings in the district had been damaged.
The district administration would take stock of the damages/losses once the rains stopped, according to A. Tamilarasi, Adi-Dravidar Welfare Minister.
Speaking to reporters here on Sunday after inspecting the Vandiyur tank, Vadapalanchi and Thenpalanchi areas in the district, the Minister said that 90 per cent of the tanks were full, except for those in Usilampatti region. The surplus water received in these tanks was flowing into Sivaganga district.
People who were shifted to public places in and around Ellis Nagar were being provided with food and clothing, Ms. Tamilarasi said.
District Collector C. Kamaraj said that the Highways authorities had been instructed to take up patch-up works on many roads in the district. “A detailed list has been taken up and works would be done on a war-footing,” he assured.
