There was widespread rain in the Western Ghats and in the hilly region in the district and it resulted in minor landslips in at least nine places on the Megamalai Hills near Chinnamanur here on Thursday.
After the continuous rain stopped for a while in the morning, forest and highways department officials visited the spots and cleared the road for traffic. A technical team inspected the hills and said that all the 18 hairpin bends were safe and fit for travel.
According to a senior engineer, a few trees were uprooted at several points on the ghat section and the parapet wall was damaged at the ninth hairpin bend. Sand bags were placed as a temporary measure. ‘If rain continues, we may have to study the situation after 24 hours,’ he added.
The officials said that there was heavy rain at Manalar, Venniyaar, Maharaja Mettu, Vannathipaarai and Melmanalaru in the region.
Normally, vehicles were not permitted to climb the hills during night hours since wild animals used to move in the forest areas. Vehicle movement was fully restricted now in view of widespread rain. Tourists have been advised to stay away from Megamalai for some time.
Highway official said that they had set right the damages in about two hours. Vehicles carrying essential commodities and officials on duty were using the road since 10 a.m., he said.
The Sothuparai and Manjalar reservoirs reached their full storage level. Collector M Pallavi Baldev said on Thursday that the third and final flood warning was issued after the storage level crossed the 55-feet mark while the maximum level stands at 57 feet. The inflow was 126 cusecs and it was fully discharged. The dam had 435.32 mcft of water as against its full capacity of 487.35 mcft. All residents residing close to the dam and the river had been asked to stay away. The storage level in Sothuparai was 126 feet and the dam had 126.67 feet of water with an inflow of 315 cusecs. The entire inflow was let out and the reservoir had 100.67 mcft of water.
Public Works Department officials said that many tanks were fast filling up in and around Bodinayakkanur. Water was gushing into the Kottakudi river. Therefore, locals, who usually go to the river for bathing, were instructed not to venture into the river for the time being.
The Kumbakarai Falls in the district remained closed for tourists with the outbreak of pandemic. With the north-east monsoon turning active during the last three days in the region, water flow into the falls had almost doubled. The farmers were in an upbeat mood as many tanks in and around were fast filling up or touched their full capacity.
