With the Cauvery and the Coleroon remaining in spate due to heavy discharge from dams in the western region, the State government, which has put all departments on high alert, has deputed one more senior IAS officer to monitor and supervise the preventive measures being taken in Tiruchi and delta districts.
Principal Secretary Pradeep Yadav, who has been asked to camp in Tiruchi, visited different vulnerable parts along the rivers on Friday.
There has been no let-up in discharge of surplus water from the Mettur dam in Salem district, the Bhavani Sagar dam in Erode district and the Amaravathi dam in Tirupur district. While about 1.70 lakh cusecs was released into the Cauvery from the Mettur dam on Friday evening, about 85,000 cusecs was discharged into the lower Bhavani river from the Bhavani Sagar dam. About 5,000 cusecs was released from the Amaravathi dam. According to Public Works Department sources, a whopping 2.09 lakh cusecs was realised in the Cauvery at Mukkombu (upper anicut) at 5 p.m. To ensure the safety of residents in Srirangam, which bore the brunt of the 2005 flood, and other low-lying areas in the region, the authorities continued to step up the discharge of surplus water from Mukkumbu into the Coleroon for the seventh consecutive day on Friday. The discharge into the Coleroon, which stood at 1,28 lakh on Thursday evening, was increased to 1.43 lakh at 5 p.m. on Friday. The discharge into the Cauvery (from Mukkumbu upper anicut) was scaled up to 65,000 cusecs from 55,000 cusecs.
The heavy flow in the Coleroon had damaged a pier of a bridge built about 90 years ago.
Pier in danger
The bridge, now in disuse after the opening of a new bridge a few years ago, is facing the danger of collapse at any time. A big crack that developed on the 18th pier due to heavy water current widened further on Friday. As a precautionary measure, the location was cordoned off.
When asked about the possibility of damage to the adjacent new bridge in the event of the collapse of the old one, Collector K. Rajamani, who inspected the damaged structure on Friday, told The Hindu that though there would be no damage , the Highways department was keeping a close watch on the bridge round-the-clock.
