Widespread downpour in the hilly tracts of Pathanamthitta for the past four days has left the rivers Pampa, Achencoil, and Manimala in spate on Monday, inundating many low-lying areas in the district.
Two washed away
A 31-year-old Sabarimala pilgrim, Gopakumar, from Alappuzha, was washed away while taking bath in the Pampa at Pampa on Monday afternoon.
Another person, identified as Manoj, has been reportedly washed away in the Varattar river.
The rain that lashed the district till Monday morning also caused minor landslides in many parts of the Konni and Ranni taluks.
Vehicular traffic has been disrupted on the flooded Erumeli-Manimala route and along many stretches on the Muvattupuzha-Punalur State Highway from Monday forenoon.
Dam shutters lifted
Shutters of the Moozhiyar dam and the Maniyar barrage have been kept open since Sunday morning.
The flooded Pampa has submerged the Sathrakkadavu stretch of the Chengannur-Kozhencherry road.
Flood situation in the Upper Kuttanad region of Thiruvalla taluk is grim with floodwaters inundating the paddy fields, rural roads, and many settlement colonies in this low-lying part of Pathanamthitta.
The Scheduled Caste settlement at Ezhikkad, near Aranmula, too has been flooded.
The Kerala State Electricity Board sources at Moozhiyar told The Hindu that the catchment areas of the Kakki and Anathode twin reservoirs as well as the Pampa dam of the Sabarigiri project had been receiving good rainfall for the past few days.
The Sabarigiri reservoir has recorded 62% of its total storage on Monday morning.
A total of 1,090 people have been shifted to relief camps by Monday evening, according to official sources.
