The Collectors of Vellore and Ranipet districts have issued a flood alert for residents of 25 villages along the Palar after 4,500 cusecs of water was discharged from the Kalavagunta dam in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday.
This is the second flood alert issued in the two districts this month owing to the heavy rain for a fortnight in Chittoor and in the catchments of the Ponnai, the Palar, the Gundar, the Goundanya Mahanadi and the Malattar.
Residents of Balekuppam, Thengal, Ponnai, Paramasathu, Madhanakuppam, Keeraisathu, Kollapalli, Melpadi and Veppalai in Vellore were asked to go to safer places. These villages are located on the western side of the Ponnai, a tributary of the Palar, in Katpadi taluk. “Since today [Sunday] is a holiday, we have warned the residents against entering the river for bathing, swimming or washing clothes. Taking selfies on the river banks and in the check-dams is prohibited,” Collector P. Kumaravel Pandian told The Hindu .
Special teams were formed for rescue and relief as rain lashed Katpadi, Gudiyatham, Kannamangalam and K.V. Kuppam on Sunday. These teams would check low-level areas, ponds and the shutters of lakes and tanks for any breach and keep a close watch on the waterbodies.
Sand-bags were kept ready the water-bodies vulnerable to flooding, he said. The Ranipet district administration issued a flood alert in 16 villages. Collector D. Baskara Pandian inspected low-level areas on Sunday. People were prevented from entering the river and other waterbodies.
In neighbouring Tiruvannamalai, continuous rain in the past few days resulted in the breach of the Vengikkal and Sariyathal lakes. The excess water from these lakes inundated the Tiruvannamalai-Vellore High Road and the Tiruvannamalai-Avalurpettai Main Road, affecting traffic flow. Several residential areas near the Collectorate were inundated. Collector B. Murugesh inspected the Adiyur lake and the affected areas where relief work was going on.
Published - October 24, 2021 11:44 pm IST
