Inflow in the Koraiyar has come down due to respite from rain
Though the inflow in Koraiyar came down on Tuesday, several low-lying areas in the city continued to remain inundated for the second consecutive day on Tuesday.
According to official sources, the flow in the Koraiyar, which went up to 5,000 cusecs on Monday evening, came down to 3,000 cusecs on Tuesday due to respite from the rain in and around Viralimalai in Pudukottai district and Manapparai and Marungapuri areas in Tiruchi district.
The water realisation at Puthur weir came down substantially, thereby reducing the water flow in the Kudamuriti river as well.
Nevertheless, low-lying areas, including Linga Nagar, Fathima Nagar, Aravind Nagar and Selvam Nagar, remained inundated with knee to waist-deep water as the water was not receding quickly.
However, the level of inundation in M.M. Nagar and Shanmuga Nagar on the western banks of the Kudamuriti began to recede gradually. In some areas, local residents joined together to drain out water. But, several residents were yet to come out of the difficulty posed by waterlogging.
“I went out to buy essentials on Monday by wading through four feet of water on the streets. It came down to knee to waist-deep water on Tuesday. What is causing concern is the mixing of sewage with water,” says M. Dharmaraj, a resident of M.M. Nagar.
The residents of 5th Cross in M.M. Nagar, one of the affected areas of water inundation, were seen cleaning the ground floors of their houses on Tuesday. They spent the whole day bringing their houses to order.
“We cannot compare the current situation with the 2005 flood. It took several days to recede. This time, the water has begun to recede within a day. But, we could not escape from the hardship this time too,” said P. Kamban, a resident of 5th Cross in M.M. Nagar.
S. Boopathy, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Customs and a resident of Srinivasa Nagar, says the fear of stagnant water mixing with sewage haunts most of the residents in Srinivasa Nagar, Kumaran Nagar and Ammayapillai Nagar.
The fresh spell of heavy rain on Tuesday complicated the efforts to drain out water using pump sets in the affected areas in the city.
Collector S. Sivarasu, who visited various parts of the city for the second day on Tuesday, told The Hindu that the water flow had come down in Koraiyar.
Based on the steps taken in the 2005 flood, he had initiated a number of steps to prevent flood in vulnerable areas. There was no cause for concern, he said.
P.M.N. Mujibur Rahuman, Commissioner, Tiruchi Corporation, said water inundation in Shanmuga Nagar and M.M. Nagar had come down. Twenty-five pump sets and eight earthmovers had been engaged to pump out water from various residential colonies.
Arrangements were made to distribute food packets to 2,500 affected residents in Krishna Puram, Gandhi Nagar, Colony, Dhobi Colony, Linga Nagar, Vinobhaji Nagar and Fathima Nagar, he added.