Landslips in hilly tracts of Kottayam

Most incidents reported from Koottikkal in Kottayam and adjoining Kokkayar in Idukki district

A series of landslips and flash floods rocked the hilly tracts of the district bordering Idukki on Wednesday night following heavy rain that lasted for nearly eight hours.

Most of the landslips have been reported from Koottikkal grama panchayat in Kottayam and adjoining Kokkayar in Idukki district.

According to Jose George, tahsildar, Kanjirappally, one of the major landslips was on the Enthayar-Elamkadu stretch where the connecting road has suffered heavy damage. The road stretch by the side of the Manimala river was washed away for over 25 m.

“The river side of the road was destroyed for over three to four meters in width,” Mr. George said.

The road is in a dangerous condition and the movement of heavy vehicles has been banned by the Public Works Department.

Power supply in the area also stands disrupted as the concrete base of the transformer remained in a slanting position as the earth from below was partly washed away in the flash flood.

According to him, another landslip at Mlakkara had pushed tonnes of earth and boulders to the concrete road leading to a colony for the Scheduled Castes. Vehicular traffic in the area has been hit.

Inundated

Reports from the area said that the Mundakkayam town suffered the wrath of nature as shops and town roads were inundated in the flash flood.

The landslip in Vadakkemala that occurred by 8 p.m. on Wednesday had contributed to the floods in the town.

The waters in Manimala river also breached the banks following heavy flow from the Mooppanmala area in Enthayar.

People not relocated

Meanwhile, the causeway at Koottikkal suffered damages as it was submerged by the flash flood in the area. The traffic on the Mundakkayam-Kattappana and Mundakkayam-Kumily routes also remained disrupted for a long period.

In many places, the roads were blocked by minor landslips while in others, fallen trees blocked traffic. Road traffic was also affected on the Vagamon-Elappara road.

District authorities said loss to agriculture was being ascertained. So far, people have not been relocated.