Surplus water from Ramanadhi reservoir is being released into the river following incessant rain in the district for the last seven days. People living close to the riverbed have been asked to move away to safer places.
Collector Arun Sundar Thayalan on Sunday held a meeting with Revenue, PWD, Rural Development Department officials to review the situation in the wake of south-west monsoon.
PWD engineers started releasing water into the river as a safety measure since Saturday as the level in Ramanadhi reservoir had gone up to 82 ft against its maximum level of 84 feet. Many other reservoirs too were fast filling up and most of them had almost touched the maximum level. In the event of more rain, officials may be compelled to release more water into the river, Mr. Thalayan said.
The pockets close to the Western Ghats had been witnessing heavy rainfall while other places were experiencing widespread rain. Catchment areas too were in the thick of rain. Falls in the Courtallam had been receiving good flow since the beginning of August. However, tourists have been prohibited from entering into the falls.
PWD engineers said that 37 mm rainfall was recorded in Gundar dam followed by Shencottah (19 mm), Adaivinaynainarkoil dam (14 mm), Sivagiri (7 mm) and Ramanadhi dam (5mm) during the last 24 hours. With Gundar reservoir having touched its maximum level, surplus water was let into the river.
The water level in Gadanadhi dam rose up by 4.5 feet in the last 24 hours and the storage level moved up to 74 ft (maximum level 85 ft) with an inflow of 484 cusecs and discharge of 10 cusecs. Likewise, Karuppanadhi reservoir received copious inflow in a day. With the maximum level at 72 feet, the storage level was 66.28 ft. Adaivinainainarkoil dam too had 4.5 feet increase taking the storage level to 125 ft (maximum level 132.22 ft).
The Collector urged people to move away from the river side and ensure that their milch animals were in safe condition. A control room has been established at the Collector’s office. For any emergencies, public can contact 04644-290548, which would function round the clock.
There was widespread rain in Kanniyakumari district too. The district administration has taken preventive measures and public have been told to cooperate by remaining indoors.
