ARIYALUR/TIRUCHY/PERAMBALUR: Following continuous showers in Tamil Nadu, a 45-years-old woman died in a wall collapse in Ariyalur near Vickramangalam on Tuesday. Her 8-month-old grandson was severely injured. Heavy rains over the past few weeks had weakened the mud walls of their shed.
Meanwhile, farmers in the delta districts also faced the brunt of the Northeast monsoon. On the flipside, tanks, dams and lakes in Tiruchy, Perambalur and Nagercoil districts were brimming. Farmers in Perambalur, led by the Tamil Nadu Farmers Association District Secretary N Chelladurai, on Monday staged a protest in front of Collector’s office, demanding relief for rain-affected crops.
“Maize, cotton, sugarcane, paddy and small onion grown on thousands of acres have been affected by heavy rains. The State government must provide relief of Rs 30,000 per acre,” said Chelladurai. In Kanniyakumari district, dams were full, thanks to rains. However, farmers of Chenbagaramanputhur and Thovalai areas could not commence paddy cultivation. They report that Thovalai channel was breached at some places during the heavy rains and the channel went dry.
As for residents in Perambalur, they fear their houses will collapse every monsoon. For more than 200 families in Samathuvapuram on Alambadi road, their damaged roofs are a cause of concern. Nearly 184 tanks out of 1,348 tanks in Tiruchy district have reached full capacity following the rainfall.
Meanwhile, teachers of Innam Mathur Higher Secondary School in Tiruchy witnessed an unlikely sight when they entered the premises on Monday, as the water from the nearby lake started overflowing and inundated the school with upto knee-high water.
Inflow to Mettur dam falls to 30K cusecs
Salem: The inflow to Mettur dam reduced to 30,000 cusecs on Monday from 55,000 cusecs the previous day. The level stood at 120 ft and storage was 93.47 TMC respectively. Discharge was also reduced to 30,000 cusecs. The inflow increased over the last ten days due to continuous rain in catchment areas. Salem had recorded 8.3 cm of rain on Sunday.