The city and several parts of the district received spells of moderate rainfall for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday.
The current wet spell has come as relief right at the peak of the summer in May, when the mercury usually hovers around 40 degree Celsius mark, although it has brought along some attendant inconveniences such as inundated roads. Residents in a few low-lying areas in Subramaniapuram expressed their ire against the continued apathy of civic officials towards the frequent inundation of their residential colonies at the first sign of rain.
However, the spell of rain should considerably ease the drinking water supply situation.
Although the Tiruchirapalli City Corporation has not anticipated any problem after the commissioning of the new drinking water supply augmentation scheme, the wetting provided to the civic body’s drinking water sources on the Cauvery riverbed has come as a big help. Otherwise, the corporation would have to bank on the water shored up at the Kambarasampettai check dam across the river, to provide a wetting for its main pumping station.
Farmers are happy that the standing crop such as banana would stand to benefit. “Apart from beneficial effect on standing crops, the widespread rain would help us tide over the shortage of fodder as grazing grounds sport a greener look now. In the absence of rain over the past few years, we have been facing a severe shortage of fodder and had to shell out big money to feed the cattle,” said P. Ayyakannu, president, Desiya Thenindia Nadigal Inaippu Sangam.
The rain would help check outbreak of summer diseases among farmers and their cattle. However, the rain has been only moderate and would not be adequate to help improve the water table in the rainfed areas, he said.
Rainfall
Navalur Kottapattu in the district recorded the maximum rainfall of 30.10 mm during the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 a.m. on Thursday. The following is the chief amount of rainfall recorded in other parts of the district during the same period (in mm): Ponnaniyar Dam 30, Kovilpatti 26, Thathaiyengarpet 20.50, Pulivam, 20, Manapparai 18.60, Marungapuri 15.20, Golden Rock 14.60, Tiruchi Town, Thenparanadu and Kuppampatti 13 each, Tiruchi Junction 12 and Devimangalam 11.80.
