The Thuraiyur Big Tank was filled to the brim and began overflowing on Friday, causing inundation in nearby residential areas of the tank.
The sprawling tank spread over 284 acres is fed by inlet canals from Kolli Hills overflowed for the first time in 16 years. When the water overflows from the tank, it goes into Chinna Eri near Thuraiyur bus stand through supply channels. However, the force of the water was such that the size of the supply channel was not sufficient and it flowed into the residential areas on either side. Water was around five feet high early on Friday morning but slowly receded to about knee-depth.
Speaking to The Hindu , L. Sundari, who lives in South Teppakulam Street, said that she was woken up by the sound of gushing waters at around 3 a.m. When she ran to the window, she saw that her street was inundated, with water up to the window of a car. “Water from the supply channel overflowed and found its way into our streets and into the already full Teppakulam. The Teppakulam then overflowed into a nearby private school and residential areas,” she said.
Water rushed into the houses next to the supply channel with the residents being rudely awakened by water gushing into their houses in the small hours of Friday morning. One such house was that of Mangala Isai Moorthy, a thavil player. “My thavil became soaked in the water and is now unfit to be used. My livelihood was hit by the COVID-19 lockdown and things were just starting to look up with the Margazhi coming up. Now I have no instrument and therefore no means to earn a living,” he rued.
Officials of the Thuraiyur municipality had lined up sandbags to restrict the flow of water into the village later in the day.
Collector S. Sivarasu visited the affected areas and directed the officials to inspect the flow of water in the Sithambur, Sellipalayam, Varadarajapuram, Sengattupatti, Keerambur lakes and its adjoining residential areas and fields. He instructed them to carry out necessary rescue measures and to survey the crops ruined by the rains.
