Following heavy rain in parts of the Nilgiris that led to flooding in parts of Gudalur town recently, the Revenue Department and the Slum Clearance Board are taking stock of illegal encroachments and hamlets at risk of flooding during extreme weather in the future.

While rain in the first week of August affected many parts of the district, the worst-hit was Gudalur town. Fortunately, the district administration’s state of preparedness in evacuating people from their homes had ensured that there was no loss of life in Gudalur.

However, anticipating more damage in the future due to extreme weather conditions, the district administration has tasked the Revenue Department to survey the hamlets and houses surrounding River Kalampuzha.

Revenue Divisional Officer (Gudalur) P. Rajkumar said the course of the stream, which passes through First Mile, Padanthorai, and Puliyamparai would be surveyed. The list of homes, farms and villages most at risk of flooding when the river is in spate would be collected. The residents of a tribal village in Puramanavayal that was most affected by the floods would be moved to homes built for them nearby, officials said.

Officials also said that they were not sure as to whether some of the homes built along the side of the river were illegal.

“This will be ascertained after the entire exercise is completed and the records studied carefully,” an official said.

Encroachments identified

Revenue department officials have identified encroachments along River Coonoor.

They said more than 150 families living along the river would be shifted to homes being built for them in Ketti within a year.