Heavy rain floods parts of Vellakoil again

TIRUPPUR: Heavy rain on Sunday evening brought life to a standstill in Vellakoil as most localities were waterlogged. The town recorded 37 mm of rain on 4 December. According to councillors of the municipality, more than 200 houses were surrounded by water.  Councillor (ward 4) R Mani said,’More than 200 houses in Kumaravalasu, Thiruvalluvar Nagar, KallalKattuvalasu, Veeraguthoopu are surrounded by water, and the families are cut off from the rest of the town. Lack of proper drainage system in the town is the reason.”

Councillor (ward 21) S Ramkumar said,"There are several blocks in the drainage system in Velapannaickenvalasu, as a result of which Karattupalayam in my ward is engulfed with rainwater. Forty families are affected due to this issue” Councillor (ward 13) Vaigai Mani said, “Two weeks ago, there was severe rain which caused water logging in the town. We used large motor pumps to drain the water. But, for the past two days, once again there was heavy rain and several streets in the locality were filled with water. Particularly, rainwater along Uppar road near old bus stand, looks like a sea. The reason is the lack of drain channels.”

An official from the Vellakoil municipality said, “Kallalkattuvalasu is a low lying area  because of which there is water logging. We have removed all blocks in the drainage system and water will drain soon. The total length of drainage system in Vellakoil is around 15.5 km and it needs improvements in several locations. We have prepared a detailed proposal to build a new system in Uppur Road and Kumaravalasu. The cost of the project is around `85 lakh and once we get approved, will start the work.”