Flood control rooms set up at four places

The district administration has established flood control rooms at Agastheeswaram, Thovalai, Kalkulam and Vilavancode taluk offices in Kanyakumari district in the wake of threat posed by cyclone ‘Jal' that is centred off Chennai coast.

Though there was no rain till evening, the sky remained overcast throughout the day and the sea was rough off few villages in the district on Sunday.

Fishermen in of district do not venture into the sea on Sunday usually except for a few using catamarans. However as directed by the Assistant Directors of Fisheries, Rubert Jothi and Rukmani, even those fishermen stayed off the sea.

The official machinery has geared up for the cyclone. Tahsildars of four taluks, few office assistants and village administrative officers had been asked to be on duty to monitor flood situation. Similarly officials of the Revenue Department, police and fire brigade had been asked to be on the vigil.

Tourist dies

Meanwhile, Madusoodhanan (30) of Baseeswarar Street in Bangalore — working in a car manufacturing company — had come to Kanyakumari along with 13 others and was taking bath in ‘Triveni Sangamam' when a giant wave dragged him into the sea. The fire service personnel tried to recover his body but their efforts were in vain.

The water level in Pechipparai dam stood at 35.30 feet, 68.10 feet in Perunchani, 15.15 feet in Chittar I and 15.25 feet in Chittar II on Sunday.