The district administrations in Salem, Dharmapuri and Erode were on full alert on Wednesday following heavy inflows into the rivers Cauvery and Bhavani.
There was a sudden spurt in the realisation of water in the Cauvery at Mettur on Wednesday, and the entire inflow was discharged into the river for yet another day.
Following heavy discharge of water from the Kabini and Krishnaraja Sagar dams in Karnataka, the inflow into the Mettur dam, which stood at 1.22 lakh cusecs (cubic feet per second) on Wednesday morning, rose to 1.45 lakh cusecs at 4 p.m. — the highest in the current season.
As the dam was surplussing, the entire inflow was discharged into the Cauvery through the 16-vent surplus weir sluices and the Thermal plant sluices. The water level at the dam stood at 120.29 ft (93.934 thousand million cubic feet.
Salem Collector Rohini R. Bhajibhakare inspected the dam and visited the low-lying areas in Mettur town. Ms. Bhajibhakare said the government machinery was on high alert.
The Erode district administration asked people in low-lying areas in Bhavani and Kodumudi to move to safer locations. Over 90 families were shifted to relief camps. Collector S. Prabhakar said that since the discharge could be increased to two lakh cusecs, officials were monitoring the flow of water and had asked people not to enter the river.
At Biligundlu, the inflow was 1,90,000 cusecs late on Wednesday. Even as the Central Water Commission alerted the downstream areas of an increased release from the Kabini and Krishna Raja Sagar dams leading to a surge in inflow into the Mettur dam to around 2 lakh cusecs, Hogenakkal had already witnessed a steady rise in inflow from 1.70 lakh cusecs in the afternoon to 1.90 lakh cusecs in the evening.
Bhavani Sagar brimming
In Erode, after 11 years, the water level at the Bhavani Sagar dam crossed 102 feet, as against the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 105 feet. Around 50,000 cusecs was released into the Bhavani, resulting in water entering houses in low-lying areas and submerging standing crops.
The discharge led to water entering over 75 houses located in low-lying areas in the Sathyamangalam block while three houses in Doddampalayam in Velliyampalayam Panchayat were damaged.
Standing crops, including banana, maize and turmeric, cultivated in hundreds of acres in lands located on both sides of the River Bhavani got submerged as worried farmers waited for the water to recede.
People thronged the dam area in large numbers to get a glimpse of the water flow, leading to traffic congestion. Collector S. Prabhakar inspected the dams and said that a round-the-clock control room was functioning at the Collectorate, and people could call the toll-free number 1077 for flood-related information.
Likewise, due to incessant rain in Udhagamandalam and catchment areas of the Pilloor dam, the inflow into the Pilloor dam stood over 29,500 cusecs on Wednesday. The water level was 97 feet, against its capacity of 100 feet. A 67-year old man, Madheswaran, of Thadam near Mettupalayam, slipped into the Bhavani river but was rescued by Fire and Rescue Services personnel on Tuesday.
The water level of Aliyar dam stood at 119 feet as against its capacity of 120 feet. The Amaravathy dam in Tirupur district was also filling up fast.
All vehicles proceeding to Punalur in Kerala from Tirunelveli district were stopped after 8 p.m. following a request from the Kollam Collector to stop vehicular movement via Puliyarai (Tirunelveli district) due to landslides.
The Tirunelveli district administration declared a holiday on Thursday for schools and colleges in Tenkasi, Sengottai, Kadayanallur, Sivagiri, V.K. Pudur, Alangulam, Ambasamudram and Cheranmahadevi under Tenkasi Revenue Divisional Office.
(With input from P.V. Srividya in Dharmapuri and R. Arivanantham in Coimbatore)
