NILGIRIS: Due to heavy rain, District Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Taneeru on Tuesday declared a holiday for schools in Pandalur and Gudalur taluks. The district recorded a total of 805 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending Tuesday morning. Cherumulli Padanthorai and O'Valley received the highest rainfall, recording 83.8 mm and 83 mm, respectively. Heavy rain left hundreds of families in Thorapalli municipality, Manvayal and Eachanvayal without power on Monday and Tuesday.
"Power was disconnected at 9 am on Monday, and supply was restored only at 1.30 pm on Tuesday. The one-and-a-half-day power outage could have been avoided if Tangedco officials had carried out proper maintenance. Though there was heavy rain, there were no strong winds. Yet, power supply was disrupted," said KR Sunil, former president of Sri Madurai village panchayat.
Gudalur Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) S K Gunasekaran said, "There was heavy rain on Monday night. However, no flooding was reported anywhere in Gudalur and Pandalur taluks. Only a few houses suffered partial damage, and there were a few minor landslips." He added that a minor landslip occurred behind the house of Rajan located in Cheppatti of Padanthorai village. However, the house was not damaged. Similarly, a drumstick tree fell on the house of K Subramani at Chetthakolli, damaging six cement sheets. Steps have been taken to remove the tree with the assistance of fire and rescue services personnel.
A concrete road at Balavadi village in Cherankode of Pandalur taluk was damaged due to a minor landslip. Similarly, a portion of the wall of Muthusamy's house at Kolapalli was also damaged. "We will provide compensation to the owners of houses that were partially damaged. There were no injuries or major damage to property in either Gudalur or Pandalur taluks," the RDO added.
Speaking to reporters, the Nilgiris collector said that compared to the same period last year, the district has received less rainfall, and that the monsoon has intensified only over the last two days. She added that Gudalur and Pandalur taluks have been witnessing heavy rainfall, while Coonoor and Kotagiri have received no rain and Udhagamandalam has recorded only light showers.
"To compensate for today's holiday declared for schools in Gudalur and Pandalur, a Saturday will be declared as a working day," the collector further said. "Relief shelters have been kept ready in Gudalur since June, and the public have already been advised to avoid swimming in rivers and other waterbodies as a precautionary measure."