Rains in Palar, Chinnar and Thoppayaru have resulted in increased inflow to the dam and the administration is releasing 25,500 cusecs of water from Sunday morning for delta districts
File image of Mettur Dam in Tamil Nadu. Wikimedia Commons/ Anuraga arasi
New Delhi: A flood alert has been sounded to the people living around the Mettur Dam in Salem district after the flow into the dam was increased to 29,000 cusecs on Sunday.
Rains in Palar, Chinnar and Thoppayaru have resulted in increased inflow to the dam and the administration is releasing 25,500 cusecs of water from Sunday morning for delta districts. In anticipation of overflowing of the rivers, the people on the banks and low-lying areas were alerted by beating of thandora (drums) asking the residents to move to safer places and not venture into the water bodies, offical sources said on Sunday.
The water-level in the dam stood at its full capacity of 120 feet and the water availability was 93.47 TMC, they said. On 16 July, the water-level in the dam reached its full capacity for the 42nd time in its 88-year-old history and a flood alert was issued.
IMD forecast
The warning is in keeping with a cyclonic circulation over Tamil Nadu, running to interior parts, was cited as a trigger for the fairly widespread rain that is set to begin on Sunday and last at least till Wednesday, reports The Hindu. While light to moderate rain may cover many places in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry from Sunday, five districts, including Salem, Tiruchi and Perambalur, may receive rain of very heavy intensity, up to 24.4 cm, at one or two places, according to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).
Echoing the IMD, the Regional Meteorological Centre said that heavy rain is likely at isolated places over Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Theni, Dindigul, Thenkasi, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Erode, Salem, Namakkal and Karur districts of Tamil Nadu from 1 August.
With input from agencies
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