Earth slips in Nilgiris following heavy rain, NMR trains cancelled
NILGIRIS: All train services from Mettupalayam to Udhagamandalam and Coonoor to Udhagamandalam were cancelled on Friday due to earth slips and falling of boulders on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) track amid heavy rain the previous night.
Mud, trees and boulders have fallen on the NMR track at various locations between Mettupalayam and Coonoor as well as in Udhagamandalam following a heavy rain on Thursday night, restricting train services scheduled on Friday, stated a release from the Salem Railway Division.
Clearing of debris is on and railway personnel held inspection throughout the 46-kilometre stretch.
The Nilgiris district received a total rainfall of 980.6 mm and an average rainfall of 31.63mm in the last 24 hours ending at 7 am on Friday.
Landslips occurred at Kurumbadi on the Mettupalayam-Coonoor road and at Wellington, Lovedale, and Uzhavar Shanthai.
Debris fell over a parked car at Reily compound. The residents here experienced a power cut for half an hour after a few trees fell over the power cable on Thursday evening.
District Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Taneeru on Friday inspected the rain-affected areas at TTK Road and Uzhavar Shanthai within the municipality limits and instructed officials to carry out preventive measures in vulnerable areas.
Addressing the media, the collector said the municipality, fire and rescue service personnel, state highway police, and TANGEDCO carried out the restoration works following landslips. Vehicular movement was unaffected despite landslips.
Also, there was no damage to property. Nor was anyone injured.
"Traffic has been diverted as the road repair works are in progress. We have instructed the people living in vulnerable areas to approach the nearby shelter or move to their relatives' houses. We are closely monitoring the situation," the collector stated.
A yellow alert was issued for the Nilgiris district on Friday.
Coonoor received the highest rainfall of 215 mm and the surrounding areas like Burliar, Coonoor rural, Balacola, and Geddai received rainfall of 46, 90, 60, 66 mm, respectively. Similarly, the surroundings of Kotagiri received a good rainfall, with Kotagiri receiving 114 mm, Kodannadu 51 mm, and Kil Kotagiri 73 mm, show the meteorological department data released by the Nilgiris district administration.
However, according to the Coimbatore-based private weatherman Santhosh Krishnan, "Denad area in Nilgiris district received the highest rainfall of 200.4 mm, and Kotagiri got 180.8mm, Konavakorai 166 mm, and Yedapalli 124.4 mm.
"As predicted, moderate to heavy rain battered Nilgiris, western parts of Coimbatore, and the surroundings of Pollachi in Coimbatore district on Thursday night. At the same time, South Tamil Nadu was also battered with very heavy rains, and the other parts of the Kongu belt are dry. However, this type of rain will be isolated and erratic in nature," he said.