Heavy rain lashes Tiruchi and Karur districts bringing relief to farmers who were worried about standing crops

Several roads inundated in Tiruchi in an hour-long downpour; Karur Collector advises people not to venture out unnecessarily even as the town records 113 mm rain

An hour-long downpour in some parts of Tiruchi on Monday made driving difficult. | Photo Credit: M. MOORTHY

Tiruchi and several parts of the delta region received moderate to heavy rainfall on Monday.

Tiruchi City received downpour for over an hour in the evening, leaving many arterial roads inundated and causing hardship to commuters. Rainwater entered the Sessions Court Police Station near Cantonment, forcing the police to take hurried measures to drain the water.

Rain over the past few days has brought down the day temperature significantly, much to the relief of city residents who had been experiencing a harsh summer with the maximum temperature crossing 42 degrees Celsius consistently.

Farmers welcomed the rain. But those who had taken up gingelly cultivation were a worried a lot. “We had been receiving good rain in Lalgudi and Pullampadi areas over the past few days. The rain is largely welcome as the water table had gone down badly this summer. Besides, it will save standing banana, sugarcane, mango, and horticultural crops. However, farmers who had raised gingelly are worried as the rain would affect the crop in flowering and harvest stages,” said N. Veerasekaran, State secretary, Bharathiya Kisan Sangam.

Gingelly farmers in Thanjavur, where the crop has been grown on an estimated 5,000 acres of land, were worried by the rainfall. On Monday, the district received slight to moderate showers.

In Tiruvarur district, Tiruvarur, Nannilam, Kudavasal, Valangaiman, Mannargudi, Needamangalam, Thiruthuraipoondi, and Muthupettai received light to moderate rain.

Heavy rain in Karur

Several parts of Karur district received good rain with Karur recording the maximum of 113 mm of rain between 8 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. on Monday. District Collector M. Thangavel advised people to desist from venturing out during the rain as there was danger of being struck by lightning. He urged them not to venture into waterbodies.

In Ariyalur district, Ariyalur town recorded 23 mm of rainfall followed by Sendurai with 21 mm between 6.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. on Monday, according to the figures furnished by the district administration.