COIMBATORE: Coimbatore city recorded 205 mm of rainfall in South West monsoon, from June so far. With a month more for the monsoon to end, the rain is expected to surpass forecast of 210 mm.
As per the data recorded by the rain gauge set up at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), the city received 9.5 mm rainfall in June and 86.8 mm rainfall in July, it has received 104.2 mm rainfall so far in August. The city got 59 mm rainfall on August 26 alone.
Professor and Head Agro Climate Research Centre Directorate of Crop Management of TNAU S P Ramanathan said, “We have been expecting 210 mm rainfall during the monsoon from June to September. We arrived at this average by calculating the rainfall received between 1992 and 2021. The highest rainfall recorded in the district is 417 mm in 2000 and the lowest rainfall was 68.4 mm rainfall recorded in 2016. The rain in SW monsoon has helped the people, especially farmers across the district.”
Meanwhile, rain on Monday evening resulted in water stagnation in underpass at Avinashi flyover, Lanka Corner and railway station. Vehicles moved slowly on Lakshmi mills and Ramanathapuram junction as vehicles started approaching at one time after rain started to come down.
Meanwhile, Clogged drains has forced sewage to overflow on Nagappa Thevar street in Ramanathapuram, leaving the residents worried. Meanwhile, a short spell of rain on Monday evening resulted in water entering several houses across the city.
“Even before the rains started, sewage was stagnant on the road because the drainage has not been desilted and there was a foul smell in the area,” said Karunakaran, a resident of Nagappa Thevar street.
“The road was inundated by sewage, as officials didn’t desilt stormw ater drains in the area. The heavy rain made the stagnant sewage water enter the buildings. Neither any corporation officials nor the councillor came and visited our area, despite of our complaining,” he added.
Ward 63 councillor, who is also the CCMC Works Committee Chairperson, Santhi Murugan told TNIE, “The drains overflowed because of the water released from Valankulam. A special project has been kick-started at a cost of `9 crore to desilt the canal from Valankulam to avoid flooding. We couldn’t desilt the drains in Nagappa Thevar Street before the rains due to fund crunch.
The civic body has always been giving us the same reason that they don’t have enough funds to carry out such works. Estimates have been prepared for several works across the city and are pending to be started due to lack of funds. We shall clear the sewage water as soon as possible.”
Speaking to TNIE, CCMC Deputy Commissioner Dr M Sharmila said, “We have asked the concerned zonal and ward officials to inspect the place and take necessary action immediately.” “We shall look into the matter and clear it soon,” shea added.