With the rain continuing to lash the district owing to low pressure over Bay of Bengal, all dams are getting decent inflow to take the storage level to a comfortable position. However, farmers are irked over “undue release of water at night from the dams.”
Since the catchment areas of the reservoirs are still getting good inflow owing to the intermittent drizzle, water level in the major dams of the district is gradually going up.
Farmers of Papanasam, Vickramasingapuram and Ambasamudram complain that Public Works Department (PWD) officials, who regulate the release of 1,000 cusecs during the day, discharge a huge quantity into the Tamirabharani at night, which is going waste now.
“As the beneficiary districts of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin are experiencing reasonably good rainfall, there is no need for release of water from the dam now. Despite knowing this fact very well, the authorities are releasing water at night. If the wastage had been avoided, the dam might have reached its maximum capacity of 143 feet by this time. Though the nature is kind enough to bless the district after three years, the officials are not ready to accept it,” said a farmer, K. Murugesan of Ambasamudram.
Farmers getting water from Adavinainar dam are also airing similar complaints against the PWD officials. However, the officials denied it while admitting that the release was being regulated depending on the inflow at night.
Confirming the farmers' charges, the Tamirabharani swelled suddenly on Saturday night and the floodwaters entered the low-lying areas of C.N. Village, Meenakshipuram, Kailasapuram and Ganesapuram, all situated close to Tirunelveli Junction, and the officials evacuated the affected families to the schools in these areas as a temporary measure. A severe breach in the Kannadiyan Channel near Kallidaikurichi is causing a huge quantity of water going waste to the systemized tanks. No step has been taken so far to plug the breach, farmers of this area complain.
Reservoirs such as Gadana (85 feet), Karuppanadhi (72), Nambiyar (23.50) and Gundar (36.10) have reached their maximum capacity level.
Four shepherds — Kumar (37) of Keezha Seval, his relatives Muppidathi (32), Thangapandi (50), both hailing from the same area, and Paappu (37) of Desamanickam — were caught in flash floods in the Tamirabharani on Saturday evening while watching over their grazing sheep. Though they could save themselves by moving to a sand dune on the middle of the river after battling for their lives for about 15 minutes, they could not save their animals (147 sheep) and their mobile phones.
Only after the shepherds' relatives informed the Fire and Rescue Services personnel, the four, caught in the middle of the river in spate, could be saved on Sunday with the help of an inflated boat.
Though flood in the Main Falls at Courtallam has subsided to some extent, the police did not allow tourists, mostly Ayyappa devotees, to take bath in the waterfalls owing to relatively heavy flow. However, the tourists were allowed to take bath in the Five Falls and Tiger Falls.
Rainfall
Rainfall in the district (in mm): Ambasamudram 115.40, Sankarankoil 95, Alangulam 88.20, Shencottai 85, Cheranmahadevi 84, Aayikudi 80.20, Sivagiri 68, Nanguneri 64, Tenkasi 51, Palayamkottai 46, Radhapuram 34 and Tirunelveli 27.
