E-Paper
Tamil Nadu reservoirs swell as heavy rainfall lash Western Ghats
Tenkasi district bordering the Western Ghats recorded incessant rainfall this year after the onset of southwest monsoon.
Overflowing rivers in southern Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts swelled dams and reservoirs after heavy rainfall lashed mountainous catchment areas of Western Ghats.
On Saturday, the areas surrounding the Servalaru dam received 46 millimetres of rainfall while Papanasam, Manimuthar and Kodimudiyaru dams received 43mm, 20.6mm and 15mm rainfall, respectively. Other dams such as Kalakkadu and Cheranmadevi got 2.6mm and 3.2mm rainfall, according to a report published in Hindu Tamil on Sunday.
With torrential rainfall in catchment areas, the Papanasam dam, which was flowing at 110.2 feet, has reportedly been receiving 3,047 cubic feet of water every second, while it is discharging 1,264 cubic feet of water per second. Manimutharu dam is receiving 871 cubic feet of water per second and discharging 150 cubic feet per second.
Adavinayinar dam also recorded 52mm of rainfall till Saturday morning while Karuppanadhi dam and Gundarau dam areas received 25mm of rainfall each. Kadana Nathi and Ramanadhi dams recorded 15mm and 10mm rainfall, respectively.
Tenkasi district bordering the Western Ghats recorded incessant rainfall this year after the southwest monsoon set in.
While the hilly terrain witnessed heavy showers so far, the other areas of the district experienced mild showers turning the locality pleasant. Other places in the district such as Sengottai (22mm), Aykudi (18mm), Tenkasi (13.40mm), Sankarankovil (3mm) and Sivagiri and (2.2mm) recorded heavy to moderate rainfall.
The heavy rainfall contributed to increased water levels at the dams in the Tenkasi district. At Kadana Nathi, it increased by two-and-half feet to touch 71.50 feet while Ramanadhi and Karuppa Nadhi dams saw their water level rise by 2.75 and 5.5 feet in a span of 24 hours. Water was flowing to the brim in the Gundar dam. Meanwhile, the Adavinayinar dam was monitoring the situation as water from the catchment areas pushed the level to 129.25 feet and it was steadily toward its capacity of 132.2 feet.
With heavy flow in the rivers, Courtallam waterfalls turned into an attraction for local people who flocked to the area to watch the bountiful nature.
