Heavy rain lashes Coimbatore, inundates railway underpasses, subways

COIMBATORE: The railway underpasses and subways across the city got inundated in the overnight showers and were filled with floodwater to the brim, after which the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) swung into action and began pumping out the water on Saturday morning.

Coimbatore witnessed rain after many weeks on Friday. Despite being known for its cool climate and regular rains, Coimbatore saw a dry spell over the past few weeks.The district saw a total rainfall of 500.40 mm with an average rainfall of 35.74 mm on Friday. Valparai region recorded the highest amount of showers in the district with 73 mm of rainfall and Aliyar recorded the least with 3mm.

Heavy rains lashed out across the district throughout Friday night, and as the subways were filled with rainwater to the brim, the officials installed barricades and blocked the path and the motorists were told to take a detour.The workers began pumping out the rainwater using large capacity motor pumps and cleaned the garbage from the stagnant water spots.

CCMC Commissioner M Prathap along with mayor Kalpana Anandakumar, deputy commissioner Dr M Sharmila, deputy mayor R Vetriselvan and other officials inspected the railway underpasses at many places across the city, including the Avinashi Road Flyover and Sanganoor Canal, where the rainwater was drained on Saturday. The commissioner ordered the officials to expedite the works and clear the passage on a war footing basis.

The civic body had earlier formed a disaster management committee with representatives from across the city, including social activists, weather experts, motor pump manufacturers and retired PWD personnel, to study and submit a report on finding a permanent solution to the inundation problem. But according to sources, the CCMC put the suggestions on hold, as ut amounted to over Rs 1 crore.

An old house located on the 8th cross street in Gandhipuram area got collapsed in the rain and a traffic signal near Lawley Road junction in the Thadagam Road got uprooted. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.The inflow to the Mettur Dam in Salem was increased from 70,000 cusecs to 80,000 cusecs on Saturday evening due to incessant rains.

Around 23,000 cusecs of water is released through dam’s powerhouse and about 57,000 cusecs of water is released through the Ellis Saddle.Because of the intense rainfall from the southwest monsoon the water inflow levels at Hogenakkal reached over 1.08 lakh cusecs on Saturday. On Friday, Dharmapuri Collector banned coracle operations as water levels reached 40,000 cusecs. However, by Saturday morning water levels were observed at 70,000 cusecs at 6 am. By late evening, water levels rose to 1.08 lakh cusecs.

On Saturday evening, the Central Water Commision, functioning under the Ministry of Jal Sakthi, issued an advisory warning about the abrupt water rise in the Cauvery.In its advisory, CWC warned that because of the heavy rains in the upper catchment of Cauvery river in Kerala and Karnataka, water inflow levels to Mettur dam could reach up to 1.20 lakh cusecs by Sunday morning.

COIMBATORE: The railway underpasses and subways across the city got inundated in the overnight showers and were filled with floodwater to the brim, after which the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) swung into action and began pumping out the water on Saturday morning. Coimbatore witnessed rain after many weeks on Friday. Despite being known for its cool climate and regular rains, Coimbatore saw a dry spell over the past few weeks.The district saw a total rainfall of 500.40 mm with an average rainfall of 35.74 mm on Friday. Valparai region recorded the highest amount of showers in the district with 73 mm of rainfall and Aliyar recorded the least with 3mm. Heavy rains lashed out across the district throughout Friday night, and as the subways were filled with rainwater to the brim, the officials installed barricades and blocked the path and the motorists were told to take a detour.The workers began pumping out the rainwater using large capacity motor pumps and cleaned the garbage from the stagnant water spots. CCMC Commissioner M Prathap along with mayor Kalpana Anandakumar, deputy commissioner Dr M Sharmila, deputy mayor R Vetriselvan and other officials inspected the railway underpasses at many places across the city, including the Avinashi Road Flyover and Sanganoor Canal, where the rainwater was drained on Saturday. The commissioner ordered the officials to expedite the works and clear the passage on a war footing basis. The civic body had earlier formed a disaster management committee with representatives from across the city, including social activists, weather experts, motor pump manufacturers and retired PWD personnel, to study and submit a report on finding a permanent solution to the inundation problem. But according to sources, the CCMC put the suggestions on hold, as ut amounted to over Rs 1 crore. An old house located on the 8th cross street in Gandhipuram area got collapsed in the rain and a traffic signal near Lawley Road junction in the Thadagam Road got uprooted. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.The inflow to the Mettur Dam in Salem was increased from 70,000 cusecs to 80,000 cusecs on Saturday evening due to incessant rains. Around 23,000 cusecs of water is released through dam’s powerhouse and about 57,000 cusecs of water is released through the Ellis Saddle.Because of the intense rainfall from the southwest monsoon the water inflow levels at Hogenakkal reached over 1.08 lakh cusecs on Saturday. On Friday, Dharmapuri Collector banned coracle operations as water levels reached 40,000 cusecs. However, by Saturday morning water levels were observed at 70,000 cusecs at 6 am. By late evening, water levels rose to 1.08 lakh cusecs. On Saturday evening, the Central Water Commision, functioning under the Ministry of Jal Sakthi, issued an advisory warning about the abrupt water rise in the Cauvery.In its advisory, CWC warned that because of the heavy rains in the upper catchment of Cauvery river in Kerala and Karnataka, water inflow levels to Mettur dam could reach up to 1.20 lakh cusecs by Sunday morning.