One of the settlements most affected by the floods and landslips that devastated the Nilgiris in 2009, is once again at peril, with infrastructure in the village crumbling and the Early Warning System installed to warn residents in advance of heavy rains having stopped functioning for the last six months.
The residents of Bharathi Nagar in Beratty, Coonoor, were one of the worst affected in the floods which hit the Nilgiris. As the area is prone to landslips, the infrastructure in the village where more than 250 families reside, including footpaths, revetments and sewers, have begun crumbling due to erosion from the rains this year.
The recent spell of rain in the Nilgiris has already had an impact in the village, with many houses being flooded by rainwater which flows into the village from the upper slopes of the hill on which the settlement is located.
“The people living here fear a repeat of the 2009 landslips is on the cards, especially as the rains have been quite heavy this year. We have been urging the district administration and the panchayat to take steps to repair the revetments at least, but nothing has happened so far,” said S. Indirani, a resident.
Residents, especially those higher up the slope on which the settlement has been set up, say that portions of the walking paths get washed away because of the rains regularly. As the sewers have also begun cracking and leaks appearing, the water manages to get into their homes very quickly, they say.
To prevent a repeat of the 2009 floods, Early Warning Systems had been set up in most of the landslip-prone areas in the Nilgiris a few years ago, of which Bharathi Nagar was one. However, due to a lack of maintenance, the system has stopped functioning completely for the last six months as the wiring has been bitten through by rats, local residents said.
“Over a 100 houses were damaged in 2009, and many of the houses rebuilt or newly built themselves are beginning to be affected,” said G. Jagadeesan, a former councillor. He added that the Early Warning System, which he had hoped would help keep residents vigilant has stopped working.
“We have not had rains as intense as 2009 since then, so people have become complacent about the threat that they face. So we require the system to be fully functional if and when heavier spells of rain hit our settlement,” he added.
