After the release of water from Pillur dam in the Nilgiris district, the Erode district administration on Monday issued flood alert to people living along the Bhavani river and banned bathing and coracle riding in the river until further notice.
“Nearly 1,000 cusecs of surplus water were released from Pillur dam into the Bhavani after heavy downpours in the Nilgiris district in the past few days,” said a public works department (PWD) official. On Monday morning, the inflow to Bhavanisagar dam crossed 10,000 cusecs.
The administration has deployed police and fire and rescue services personnel along the banks of the river to prevent people from entering it. A team of officials from revenue, PWD, police and forest departments will monitor the situation.
Besides, officials used mike and ‘tom-tom’ to urge people to vacate their houses along the river. “We asked farmers to move their cattle and their properties away from the river, as water released could lead to flash floods,” said an official. TNN