Madurai
After the Cyclone Burevi weakened, widespread rain in many southern districts since Friday evening had halted normal life.
The worst hit among the districts was Ramanathapuram, where the farmers in Nainarkoil complained that water logging in the standing paddy crops at Vaniavallam and Muthupattinam had completely damaged the prospects of harvest during this season.
During an inspection, Collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver and Monitoring Officer Dharmendra Pratap Yadav saw for themselves waterlogging in paddy fields. The farmers pleaded with them to drain the water after which the PWD engineers were instructed to examine the modalities and help the farmers.
Agriculture department officials said that they have been visiting villages, where waterlogging complaints were received.
"We are yet to begin the survey," an official said. A watch tower belonging to the Forest Department in Kurusadai island in Mandapam was damaged after the heavy rains which hit the infrastructure. As a safety measure, the TANGEDCO officials had switched off the electricity in many areas in Ramanathapuram, Rameswaram, Mandapam and among others.
Cadre of the Communist parties staged a protest demanding the officials to clear the fallen trees and switch on the electricity. For a brief moment, traffic on the NH near Rameswaram was suspended, but after the officials assured, the agitators dispersed.
In Madurai city, motorists found it tough to move around the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple and other locations in the central parts on Saturday. Before Deepavali, the Madurai Corporation, in a bid to facilitate festival shoppers and the heeding to merchants' plea, suspended the works abruptly. As a result, carriage space had shrunk and traffic moved at snail's pace.
In Dindigul district, three dams — Kuthiraiyaaru dam (80 ft max), Varadamanadhi dam (67 ft) and Palar-Poranthalaru dam (65 ft) — were overflowing on Saturday following steady inflow. As a sequel, the PWD authorities had let off the discharge in full that many tanks in the region were fast filling up after five years. The farmers were in an upbeat mood. Traffic in Palani-Kodaikanal ghat section was suspended again for the second day after a tree had fallen. As vehicles had piled up on both sides, the rescue operation took over three hours.
In Virudhunagar district, the post-Cyclone Burevi was a disappointment as the rain was not very heavy as predicted. However, in pockets of Kariapatti, farmers who had raised shallots were at a big loss. The continuous drizzle had led to waterlogging and as a result, many farmers were looking for compensation from the government. The officials said that they have started a survey.
Thoothukudi experienced good rainfall that the deficit had narrowed down considerably. But, the residents in the city limits had a harrowing experience as the poor upkeep by the civic authorities got exposed.
The rest of the districts — Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari and Tenkasi — had widespread rains, but they were not welcome by the farmers. Many tanks were yet to fill up in Tirunelveli, while the dams in Tenkasi had 80 % rains, they claimed.
(With bureau inputs)