COIMBATORE:A flood alert has been sounded in the villages of Bhavani river as the water level in Pillur dam is nearing its total height of 100 feet.
Revenue department officials have advised people living in the low-lying areas at Thekkadi, Mettupalayam and Sirumugai to move to a safer location.
Sources informed that the catchments of Pillur dam had received 165 mm rainfall in just 12 hours between 6 am and 6 pm on Friday. The dam, which is the drinking water source for almost the entire district and part of Tirupur, had reached 94.5 feet as against its total height of 100 feet. The inflow which was initially 7,000 cusecs came down to 1,000 cusecs by Saturday afternoon.
“We are releasing 6,000 cusecs of water from the dam and will continue to maintain the storage level at 93 feet. We expect more rainfall on Sunday and it will be helpful for us to store more water and produce electricity, said an official from the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation.
The official said all necessary measures would be taken to prevent water from overflowing as it would hamper electricity production.
The TANGEDCO operates two generators and produces 100 mega watt power per day during the peak hours (four hours) in the morning and evening. The intermittent showers have prompted the officials to operate the generators for additional hours to generate more electricity which is connected to the state grid.
Though the catchments of Pillur dam had received high amount of rainfall, the district in general witnessed little rain on Friday. Mettupalayam received 10.10 mm rainfall, while Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU) and Coimbatore South area recorder 4.5 mm and 4 mm respectively.
Meanwhile, catchments of Siruvani dam received good rainfall while officials hoped that the water level will reach its total height.