PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry-Cuddalore highway remains submerged following heavy rains that caused water from Thenpennai river and irrigation channels to overflow, cutting off traffic on the Reddichavady to Mullodai stretch. Traffic has been diverted to NH-45A as floodwaters inundated roads and villages in Bahour and Embalam.
“The highway was navigable when I travelled at 8:30 a.m., but by evening, floodwaters had taken over with water gushing,” Deputy Registrar Joseph Naresh S of Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute said.
Flood intensified in Kirumampakkam with Aarupadai Veedu Medical College reporting inundation in its ground floor by afternoon. “ The ground floor has two feet of water . Students were shifted out for safety,” said U Lakshmikandan, MLA. “The situation developed last night when Kamli Karan Kuppam village was flooded with people being evacuated and relocated to relief camps. But this morning it escalated. Aranganur and Kirumampakkam got flooded. Around 700 people were displaced,” he said.
In Bahour constituency, Manamedu, Kariyamputhur and Kuduvanour villages got inundated and suffered a three-day power outage. “Drinking water is a serious issue. We rely on water provided by tankers once a day,” said Venkatesan, a Manamedu resident. Even Bahour Lake, Puducherry’s second-largest reservoir, has been overwhelmed by water from the Bangaru Vaikal.
The flooding is attributed to excessive inflows from the Sathanur Dam and accumulated water from Cuddalore and Villupuram districts. PWD Minister K Lakshminarayanan said the dam’s release has been reduced from two lakh to 50,000 cusecs, gradually easing the water flow into Thenpennai river. “The situation should stabilise by Wednesday,” he said. The government has declared a holiday for over 22 schools in rural areas being used as relief centres.