Moderate to heavy rainfall continued in several parts of the central region, including the Cauvery delta districts, inundating crops and residential colonies in low-lying areas on Tuesday.
In view of the continuing rain and the weather forecast, a holiday has been declared by the government for schools and colleges in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai and Nagapattinam districts in the delta on Wednesday and Thursday. Schools and colleges in Pudukottai, Ariyalur and Perambalur districts will remain closed on Wednesday as per an announcement of the district administration. Wednesday will be a holiday for schools in Tiruchi district.
Several parts of Tiruchi and Pudukottai districts and the core delta districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai and Nagapattinam district received intermittent rainfall during the day. Muthupettai in Tiruvarur district recorded 94.4 mm of rainfall between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Thiruthuraipoondi (84.8), Mannargudi (55), Needamangalam (37.8) and Tiruvarur (36) also received good rainfall in the district. Vedaranyam, Nagapattinam, Thalainayiru and Thirupoondi recorded heavy rainfall in Nagapattinam district on Tuesday.
After spells of light drizzle in the morning, Tiruchi city received a sharp downpour in the afternoon. The sky remained heavily overcast right through the day and vehicles on highways had to ply with their headlights on due to poor visibility.
With thousands of acres of samba and thaladi paddy crop being inundated across the delta already, farmers were keeping their fingers crossed. “Thanjavur district received moderate to heavy rain on Tuesday, leaving standing crops inundated in many places. With more rain being predicted over the next few days, farmers are apprehensive over possible crop damages. The Public Works Department authorities should maintain a close vigil to prevent any breaches on water courses. The last date for insuring the samba/thaladi crop should be extended till the month end. This should not be seen as a routine demand but as a necessity due to the inclement weather and the hardship faced by farmers,” said V.Jeevakumar, district president, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, Thanjavur.
Ministers, monitoring officers and Collectors fanned out to the affected areas and reviewed the situation in the districts. S. Reghupathy, Minister for Law, reviewed the situation in Pudukottai district, while Siva V.Meyyanathan, Minister for Environment and Youth Welfare, inspected inundated paddy fields in Nagapattinam district and the work on repairs to the damaged road along the Harichandra river on Alangudi-Thalainayiru Road.
With the low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal expected to bring in heavy rainfall on Wednesday as per the weather forecast of Indian Meteorological Department, the authorities in the districts are gearing up to tackle the situation. People have been advised to ensure the safe keep of important documents such as Aadhaar and ration cards and stock essential supplies
Speaking to reporters, Tiruvarur Collector P. Gayathri Krishnan said that 118 excavators, 442 motor pumps, 699 power saws, over 27,000 sand bags and over 1 lakh gunny bags for plugging breaches, and five fibre boats for rescue operations had been kept ready.
