The Tamirabharani experienced the first flood of this year as there was good rainfall in the Western Ghats on Tuesday night.
But the floodwater was allowed to go waste even as almost all tanks in the district remained dry. While the catchment areas of Papanasam dam registered the highest rainfall of 300 mm, Alangulam experienced 274 mm of rainfall to stand first among the taluks. As the influx of water increased manifold, water level in the Papanasam dam rose from 32 feet to 40 feet while storage level in the relatively smaller Servalar dam increased from 47 feet to 79 feet.
However, the entire quantum of flood in the river was going waste to enter the Bay of Bengal beyond Punnaikaayal in Tuticorin district even as over thousand systemised tanks remained bone-dry.
The Public Works Department, which is controlling irrigation systems, should have taken steps to divert the floodwater to the parched tanks. But none of the PWD officials here was prepared to reply to the question as to why no step was taken to store the floodwater going waste in the river in the tanks.
As the Western Ghats continued to receive good rainfall on Tuesday night also, flood continued in Main Falls and Five Falls and tourists were prevented from taking bath in these waterfalls. The flood brought down a huge dead wood at Main Falls. Since the police had prevented tourists from even going closer to the falls, none was injured.
Old Falls also received copious flow of water on Wednesday forcing the police to stop tourists from taking bath in the falls. While areas closer to the Western Ghats experienced either drizzle or rain during the day on Wednesday, drizzle stopped in other parts of the district.
Rainfall in the district (in mm): Papanasam dam – 300, Alangulam – 274.60, Manimuthar dam – 266.40, Ambasamudram – 225, Gadana dam – 200, Ramanadhi dam – 190, Nanguneri – 177, Cheranmahadevi – 152, Vadakku Pachchaiyar – 120.80, Tenkasi – 94.30, Kodumudiyar dam – 90, Servalar dam – 85, Karuppanadhi dam – 82, Palayamkottai – 80, Radhapuram and Gundar dam – 72, Sivagiri – 71, Shencottai – 70, Sankarankovil – 63, Adavinainar dam – 56, Tirunelveli – 52, Aayikudi – 45.80, Nambiyar dam – 42 and Veerakeralamputhur – 40.
