Ramanathapuram
After the failure of northeast monsoons in successive last three years and erratic monsoons since 2012, the arid district received heavy rain on Monday night as Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao declared holiday for schools, inspected low-lying and marooned areas and ordered shifting of affected people to the relief centres.
As per the rainfall figures released at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, the district received total rainfall of 1,101.63 mm, the highest since the onset of monsoon on October 17 with an average of 68.85 mm rainfall. Pamban received the highest rainfall of 183 mm, followed by Mandapam -176.90 mm and Thangachimadam – 168.30 mm.
The rain brought cheers to farmers who had taken up paddy cultivation on about 1.25 lakh hectares of rain-fed areas and general public, who had been facing water problems. Agriculture department officials advised the farmers to drain out water in the fields and ensure there was no inundation.
The rain has also brought inflows into about 7,500 farm ponds in the district, they said. Most of the ponds were 25 to 40% full, they added. There was also considerable increase of water level in wells and bore wells in the residential areas, officials said.
At least 10 Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses were damaged when a portion of the compound wall of the bus depot collapsed on Monday night. The buses were parked abutting the compound wall and rear windshields of at least five buses were fully damaged.
The outer wall of a tiled roof house was collapsed at Emaneswaram but the house had no inmates. The compound wall of a mosque at Kuyavankudi was also collapsed in the rains. No loss of life was reported in the district, officials said.
The district had been receiving good amount of widespread rain since the onset of the monsoon and before, they said. On October 16, the district had received total rainfall of 505.60 mm, followed by 670.90 mm of rainfall on October 17, 82.80 mm on October 18 and 533 mm of rainfall on October 21.
Accompanied by officials, Mr. Rao visited Chinnapalam, the most affected village in Pamban Panchayat, and assured the affected people of all assistance. After people complained that rainwater entered their huts, he directed the officials to shift the affected people to the nearest relief shelter. Food and medical facilities were made available to them at the shelter, he said.
Several residential areas were inundated in Rameswaram, Pamban and the adjacent coastal Mandapam, forcing people to vacate their houses.
As the meteorological department forecast more rain, he declared holiday for all government and private schools for a day on Tuesday.
The inter-departmental zonal teams have been asked to keep vigil and undertake immediate relief and rescue operation in the affected areas, he said. Twenty three multi-purpose evacuation centres and 148 relief centres were ready to accommodate affected people, he said.
The Collector said all teams, including restoration teams and inventories such as wood cutters, motors and JCBs, were ready. Culverts have been cleaned up to drain stagnated water to waterbodies, he added.
Till 6 a.m. on Tuesday, the district has received total rainfall of 1,101.63 mm and the average stood at 68.85 mm rainfall, he said. Mr Rao also inspected the facilities at a multi-purpose evacuation centre at Pirappanvalasai.
