MADURAI
Rain lashed many parts of Theni and Dindigul districts on Sunday, bringing cheer to farmers. Incessant rain throughout the night was reported in many places, including Andipatti, Aranmanaipudur, Periyakulam, Sothuparai, Uthamapalayam, Gudalur and Veerapandi in Theni district and catchment areas of Periyar dam.
Heavy rainfall occurred in Dindigul on Monday morning. Parts of Vedasandur, Vadamadurai, Oddanchatram and Palani received good amount of rainfall on Sunday night, while Kodaikanal received steady showers on Sunday and Monday. Following the rain, Kodaikanal lake is overflowing.
Due to heavy water flow in Suruli and Kumbakkarai waterfalls, tourists were barred from bathing. Manjalar and Shanmuganadhi rivulets and Mullai river in Veerapandi swelled following heavy rain.
A Class VII boy from Vedapatti, Santhoshkumar, 13, drowned in the Vagai at Anaipatti in Dindigul district on Saturday. Another schoolboy, Sanjaykumar, drowned in Kamarajar dam at Athoor on Monday.
PWD officials, district administration and police have advised people not to enter rivers, channels and lakes during the monsoon season.
Similarly, several parts of Ramanathapuram district received widespread rain, accompanied by thunderstorm in some areas, on Sunday night, bringing cheer to farmers and causing damage to electronic goods in many houses at Thangachimadam in Rameswaram island.
The farmers, who had sown paddy in about 60,000 hectares in rain-fed areas, welcomed the rain which, they said, would help the already germinated paddy crop. The widespread rain would protect the crop for the next 15 days, Agriculture department officials said.
They said rain would also help the farmers take up cultivation in 70,000 more hectares of rain-fed areas. The officials said all primary agriculture cooperative credit societies and private firms had enough stock of seeds for distribution to farmers, who had so far procured 1,050 tonnes of paddy seeds, mainly Co-51, NLR-34449 and ADT (R)-45 varieties.
Kadaladi, Kamuthi, Mudukulathur, Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram, Rameswaram, Thiruvadanai and Kilakarai taluks witnessed rainfall on Sunday night. Rameswaram received the maximum rainfall of 60.20 mm, followed by Pamban with 40.90 mm, Thangachimadam 37.40 mm, Mandapam 36 mm, Kadaladi 25 mm, Ramanathapuram 23.50 mm and Kamuthi 22.80 mm, the officials said.
Thunderstorm in Thangahchimadam area caused damage to electronic goods such as television sets, refrigerators, air-conditioners and inverters in many houses. Air-conditioners exploded even in locked houses and inverters were damaged in at least 30 houses, fishermen leader S. Chinnathambi said.
