Heavy rain in Coimbatore pushes Pillur dam to brim, flood alert issued along Bhavani River

Chennai, May 27 (IANS) Relentless rains continued to lash Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu with intermittent breaks, causing the Pillur Dam to reach near full capacity and resulting in flooding along the Bhavani River in Mettupalayam.

Water resources department officials said that at present, the Pillur Dam has a water level of 96 feet, just four feet short of its full reservoir capacity of 100 feet.

With an inflow of 10,515 cusecs, authorities released the entire volume downstream. On Monday night, all four sluices of the dam were opened to discharge approximately 15,000 cusecs of water to manage the surging inflow.

District Collector Pavankumar G. Giriyappanavar, who inspected the flooded stretches of the Bhavani River in Mettupalayam, confirmed that State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams have been stationed in Mettupalayam, Sirumugai, and Pillur Dam regions to address any emergency situations.

“Seventeen families living in houses along the riverbank have been moved to safer locations. Public access to the river for bathing or fishing has been strictly prohibited for safety reasons,” the Collector said.

A flood alert has been issued to all residents living near the riverbanks, advising them to relocate to safer areas until conditions stabilise.

Meanwhile, the Siruvani Dam also witnessed a rise in its water level due to the continuing downpour. The dam’s storage level increased by four feet, from 22 feet on Sunday to 26 feet on Monday, against its full reservoir level of 50 feet.

Further downstream, the Bhavani Sagar Dam in Erode recorded a significant surge in inflow. From 4,367 cusecs at 4 p.m. on Sunday, the inflow rose dramatically to 16,572 cusecs by Monday evening. As a result, the dam’s water level rose from 70.62 feet to 73.02 feet, out of its full capacity of 105 feet.

Housing, Prohibition, and Excise Minister S. Muthusamy, who visited a damaged house in Madukkarai, stated that eight houses were affected by the rain in the district. He added that the district administration has initiated the process of disbursing compensation worth Rs 25.5 lakh to farmers who lost plantain crops due to the rains.

“Thanks to timely precautionary measures, the overall damage in the district has been limited,” the Minister said.

--IANS

aal/dpb