Surplus water from Amaravathi dam near Udumalpet in Tiruppur district was released on Saturday due to the increased inflow of water caused by the rain in the catchment areas.
Officials from the Public Works Department (Water Resources Organisation) said that the water level touched 88 feet against the full reservoir level of 90 feet at noon on Saturday. Following this, 2,300 cusecs of water was released from the dam, of which 300 cusecs were released through the main canal on Saturday. As of 4 p.m., the storage was 3.886 tmc against the capacity of 4.047 tmc.
The increased water inflow was due to the heavy rain in the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats caused by the Cyclone Burevi, which weakened on Thursday. The PWD issued a flood warning as the water level touched 85 feet at 10 p.m. on Friday, officials said. This is the third time in this year where surplus water was released from Amaravathi dam, according to the officials.
Revenue Department officials said the residents of two villages – Elayamuthur and Kallapuram – near Udumalpet on the banks of River Amaravathi have been warned not to go near the river. However, no evacuation was required on Saturday as the water discharge from the dam was relatively less, the officials said.
Meanwhile, various restrictions were put in place at the Amanalingeswara Temple in Thirumoorthy hills due to flooding at the Panchalinga waterfalls. Temple officials said that the devotees were not allowed to walk around the temple and will be allowed to worship the deities only at the front of the temple. The temple premises were flooded on Thursday and remained closed for devotees, but was opened on Friday as the stagnant water was drained, officials said.
