THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Continuing heavy rain wreaked havoc destroying 37 houses and partially damaging 198 houses in the capital district. The shutters of Aruvikkara, Peppara and Neyyar dams remained open as heavy inflow from the catchment areas here was witnessed even late into the night on Saturday. Several areas in the district have been receiving moderate to heavy rain.
The water level in the Neyyar dam remained above the rule curve level late on Saturday. However, a slight dip in the water level at the rate of 1cm every two hours has been recorded If the situation persists, the shutters of the dam will not have to be raised further.
In Peppara, water level stood at 106.85 m which is 5cm below the permissible level. The water level rose by 5cm in the last 24 hours. Two of the dam’s shutters have been raised 15cm. Power generation by the KSEB is also under way here. During the last 24 hours, the inflow of water is 35.21 m3/sec and the outflow is 32.78 m3/sec. The water level in the Aruvikkara dam is 46.31m, with the shutters raised to a total height of 125cm.
Crops situated on 5,867 hectare were damaged in the rain. In city limits, trees fell on electricity posts at Pattoor, Premnagar in Karamana, Poojappura, and Peroorkada ESI hospital, besides Keraladityapuram cutting off power supply. Water entered houses on Fathima Matha Road and nearby places due to the rough sea. Twenty-four people were moved to two different camps opened in Pettah village. Swell waves forced the relocation of eight families at Thumba in Menamkulam village. They were shifted to the houses of relatives.
Thampanoor’s ordeal continues
The capital’s prominent Thampanoor area, which houses the Central Railway station and the KSRTC main bus station, witnessed a flashflood yet again on Saturday. Though Operation Anantha, under which the corporation and revenue department set up deeper drains in the city, had yielded results for sometime, with more waste being dumped into the Amayizhanjan Thodu the drainage system has become clogged resulting in flashflood.