ERODE: Over 1,100 people were evacuated from the banks of Cauvery river in Erode and Namakkal districts and moved to relief camps as a precautionary measure on Sunday following increase in the volume of water discharged from the Mettur dam on Sunday.
The inflow to the dam was 1.95 lakh cusecs on Sunday evening, against the 11,000 cusecs last week. With water level already reaching the full reservoir level of 120 feet, the whole inflow is being discharged into the Cauvery river. Thus resulted in water entering several houses in Erode district.
“Low lying areas along the river in Bhavani, Erode and Kodumudi taluk are flooded in Erode district. As a precautionary measure, 510 people have been shifted to camps and are provided food and medical aid.” said the District Disaster Management officials.
Around 600 people living in low-lying areas of Kumarapalayam and Pallipalayam in Namakkal were moved to camps. Tourism Minister Mathivendan, and District Collector Shreya P Singh visited them and distributed assistance. Meanwhile, water level in the Lower Bhavani Dam in Erode is nearing its full capacity of 102 feet.
“On Sunday, the level was 101.75 feet. We expect the dam level to touch 102 feet on Monday and surplus water would be released into the river. The public has been warned to stay safe.” said WRD officials.
Water level in Hogenakkal reached 1.85 lakh cusecs on Sunday. Due to this, flood alert was issued by the district administration to people living on the banks of the Cauvery. Data from show 385.8 mm of rainfall was recorded in Erode till Sunday morning.
(With inputs from Dharmapuri)