Rain disrupts summer festival

Heavy rain that hit various parts of the Nilgiris district led to disruptions in traffic, and the cancellation of the annual Ooty Boat Race on Wednesday.

The Nilgiris District Collector, Innocent Divya, was scheduled to inaugurate the Boat Race, organised by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation and the district administration.

With rain not abating for over two hours, the boat race had to be cancelled.

There were also disruptions to traffic in Udhagamandalam town with water inundating the low-lying areas, including areas near the bus stand and the Udhagamandalam Railway Station.

The underpass leading to the Ooty Lake and Boat House was flooded with water overflowing from the Kodappamund Channel, and traffic came to a standstill along the route.

A few vehicles also became stuck in the water, and needed to be pulled out with tow-vehicles.

On early Wednesday morning, traffic from Coonoor to Mettupalayam had to be diverted via Kotagiri after a huge boulder rolled onto the road after heavy rains near Burliar.

A tree that fell along a road from Bharathi Nagar was cleared.

Horticulture Department officials are concerned that the rain could have an impact on preparations for the 122nd Flower Show to be inaugurated by the Chief Minister, Edappadi K Palaniswami, on May 18.

Officials said that care was being taken to ensure that the flowering pots and exhibits that will be on display during the flower show are not damaged in the days running up to the event.