Tamil Nadu: Nellai, Tenkasi face heavy rainfall, flooding

TIRUNELVELI/TENKASI,DEC 18: In the face of inundation following heavy rains in Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi, and Kanniyakumari districts on Sunday, examinations for colleges affiliated to the Anna University that were scheduled to be held on Monday, were postponed. Examinations for the university’s distance education programme for the Nagercoil centre have also been postponed, as do tests for Manonmaniam Sundaranar University.

The district administrations of Tirunelveli and Tenkasi declared a holiday for schools and colleges on Monday. According to a report from the Tirunelveli disaster management department, the Naalumukku of Manjolai Hills recorded 19cm of rainfall as of 8.30 am on Sunday. The rains intensified as the day advanced, with the district recording an average rainfall of 25cm between 8.30 am and 6.30 pm. Heavily hit areas include Manjolai (35cm), Kakkachi (34cm), Oothu (33cm), Naalumukku (32cm), Moolaikaraipatti (33cm), Palayamkottai (27cm), Nambiyar Dam (28cm), Cheranmahadevi (26cm), Nanguneri (24cm), Papanasam (23cm), Ambasamudram (23cm), and Radhapuram (21cm).

Papanasam and Manimuthar dams in Tirunelveli district reached 90% and 62% of their respective capacities on Sunday afternoon, triggered by flash floods in the catchment areas. The district administration warned people residing near the Thamirabarani River to keep away from the waterbody. “Due to an increased inflow, water release from the river will be gradually increased to 35,000 cusecs,” said a statement from the district administration, which also circulated the contacts to the district disaster management control room (1077) and the state control room (1070).

Tirunelveli: After Chief Minister MK Stalin ordered a trial run of the surplus water in the canal dug under the Thamirabarani-Karumeniyar-Nambiyar river-linking project, assembly speaker M Appavu released Thamirabarani water into the canal in Vellankuli on Sunday. “As many as 23,040 hectare of farm will get irrigation facilities with this project in 50 villages of two districts, where about 252 ponds will also get water,” the district administration said. Meanwhile, the chief minister appointed the senior IAS officers as monitoring officers to speed up the rescue operation in the southern district.

-ANI