TENKASI /TIRUNELVELI: Residents of Tenkasi and Tirunelveli, who had been reeling under scorching heat for the past few weeks, heaved a sigh of relief as several parts received unexpected heavy rainfall on Monday.
Farmers in rainfed areas such as Alangulam, who were facing the prospect of losing their crops due to declining groundwater levels, were particularly jubilant over the showers.
According to sources, moderate to heavy rainfall was recorded in Alangulam, Sambavarvadakarai, Vasudevanallur, Surandai, Ambasamudram, Sankarankovil, Nanguneri, Thisayanvilai and several parts of Tirunelveli city. In the city, areas including Kakkannagar, Maharaja Nagar, the New Bus Stand, Tirunelveli Junction and the Palayamkottai-Rettiarpatti stretch received good rainfall.
In Alangulam, several farmers had cultivated onions, tomatoes and other crops, but their wells were nearly dry due to inadequate rainfall. With the crops at risk of drying up, the sudden showers provided some respite.
The rainfall came at a time when water storage in major reservoirs in the two districts was considerably lower than the corresponding level last year.
The Manimuthar reservoir, which had 3,106 mcft against its total capacity of 5,511 mcft at this time last year, had a storage of only 1,010 mcft on Monday morning. Similarly, the Papanasam reservoir had 1,082 mcft on Monday, compared to 2,764 mcft during the corresponding period last year. The sudden showers also brought down temperatures after the mercury had touched around 105 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of Tirunelveli in recent days.
