MAYILADUTHURAI: With a surge in flow in River Kollidam, villages near the river’s mouth in the district are once again facing the risk of flooding. To mitigate the threat, the district administration on Thursday began measures such as evacuation of residents from the vulnerable areas.
Two years ago, Alakkudi, Nathalpadugai, Muthalaimedu and Vellamanal villages in Kollidam block witnessed flooding due to a surge in the Cauvery water released from Mettur dam and the subsequent release of surplus water into the Kollidam from Kallanai.
The discharge of water from Mettur into Cauvery was increased to 1.7 lakh cusecs on Thursday as the inflow continues to surge. The water level reached the full reservoir level of 120 feet (93.4 tmcft) on Tuesday, following which the entire inflow was discharged into the river.
Subsequently, the water reached Grand Anicut (Kallanai) on Wednesday and the sluice gates were opened on the same day. From Kallanai, the water is flowing into Cauvery (at 7,010 cusecs), Vennaru (at 1,505 cusecs), and Kollidam (at 1.1 lakh cusecs) and Grand Anicut canal (at 1,262 cusecs) as of Thursday.
Collector AP Mahabharathi inspected Nathalpadugai, Vellamanal, Muthalaimeduthittu and Alakkudi villages located on the river mouth and directed officials to monitor the conditions over the course of the week. "Kollidam could witness a surge above Rs 2 lakh cusecs in the coming days. We have instructed the people in the vulnerable areas to move to the relief camps with their valuables, documents and cattle.
We have opened control rooms at collectorate to respond to emergencies," the collector said. In 2022, these villages were flooded at least seven times from July to October when the surge in Kollidam was over 2 lakh cusecs. People were evacuated and sheltered in relief camps. Earlier this year, the boulder-protection along Kollidam River in Alakkudi was increased from 200 metres to 660 metres at the cost of Rs 24 crore.
However, Nathalpadugai, Muthalaimedu and Vellamanal are still vulnerable to flooding. The district administration has instructed officials to make arrangements for evacuation, protect cattle and to survey affected crops. Three State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams consisting of 88 personnel have been stationed for rescue and relief works.
At least 120 district police personnel will work in tandem with the SDRF, SP K Meena said. R Marimuthu, the executive director from WRD said, "We have arranged 10.000 sandbags, 30,000 sacks, 20,000 casuarina logs and 250 cubic metres of sand to provide reinforcements if there is a breach. We are also arranging ten backhoe loaders, five tractors and four machine saws."