Heavy rain hits normal life in the Nilgiris

Surplus water released from the Emerald Dam near Udhagamandalam on Monday has partly submerged a temple. (Right) The job of keeping the lawns inside the Government Botanical Garden in Udhagamandalam attractive has been made difficult by the incessant rain.Heavy rains and bitter chill have affected normal life in various parts of the Nilgiris.While the Pandiyar-Punnampuzha river and many of the streams in Gudalur and surroundings were overflowing, water has touched the brim in most of the dams near here. Minor landslips occurred in some areas and storm water entered a few houses in parts of Gudalur, including Vedanvayal and Puranavayal.

Stating that the district administration was in a state of preparedness to tackle any eventuality, the Nilgiris Collector, Santosh K. Misra, told mediapersons here on Monday that the flood control centre at the Collectorate would function round-the-clock. For any assistance, people could contact phone number: 2444012.In view of the inclement weather, the Education Department was instructed to close schools in Ooty, Kundah, Pandhalur and Gudalur taluks for half-a-day on Monday. If the weather continued to be hostile, appropriate precautionary measures would be taken by the authorities concerned.

During the 24-hour period ending 8.30 a.m. on Monday, Avalanchi received 312 mm of rainfall, Upper Bhavani - 175, Naduvattam - 164, Gudalur - 145, Devala - 110, Glenmorgan - 102, Kundah - 49 and Ooty - 24.Among the dams where water has touched the brim were Upper Bhavani, Avalanchi, Emerald, Kundah, Pykara and Kamaraj Sagar. The Parsons Valley Hydel Reservoir was almost full.As a precautionary measure, surplus water from the Emerald Dam was released on Monday.Since some persons were either residing or cultivating crops on lands along the water course, the officials of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board have been asked to inform the revenue authorities about plans to open the sluice gates of the overflowing dams.

Pointing out that since the beginning of the current wet season 28 dwellings had been fully damaged and 265 partially damaged, he said that relief had already been distributed to 273 persons.The government has been requested to provide more equipment to the Highways Department to clear road blocks.To a question, Mr. Misra said that trees uprooted by the strong winds over the last two months which were lying on the roads in different parts of the district were in the process of being removed.He said that steps would be taken to ensure that the uprooted trees or stumps did not pose a danger to motorists or pedestrians.

Meanwhile the continuous overcast conditions and incessant rains have become a source of concern to the authorities in charge of the Government Botanical Garden here. Stating that the planting operations for the Autumn season had been completed, the Manager of the garden N. Mani said that a dry spell would be most welcome since some of the young plants were on the verge of rotting.The weather had also made the task of maintaining the lawns very difficult, he added..

Ooty badly in need of a facelift

A badly damaged part of the main road at Charing Cross in Udhagamandalam.With just a few weeks left for the curtain to go up on the Autumn tourist season in this holiday destination, concern over the lack of efforts to make the place presentable has started growing among the people here.A view shared by residents representing a cross section of the society was that the appearance of the town had never been as deplorable as it was now. Emphasising the need to start work forthwith on giving a much-needed facelift, they said that it should begin at Charing Cross on the threshold and end at the Ooty Lake on the far end of the own.

Focus should be on repairing the roads and improving the footpaths, many of which were not serving their purpose now. The standard of sanitation and hygiene should be high in the town and places where people congregated. The civic amenities should be more than adequate.Pointing out that tourism played a major role in ensuring the economic well being of the hill station, people in the travel and tourism industries said that only if steps were initiated immediately on a war footing could Udhagamandalam be made presentable by early September, when the tourist season would begin.

The officials particularly in the civic administration should not shirk their responsibilities by pointing a finger at the wet weather, they said and contended that the weather cannot be blamed for all the ills plaguing the town.For the sorry state of affairs pertaining to Udhagamandalam rapidly turning into a huge ‘septic tank’, the municipality is finding fault with the sloppy manner in which the Restricted Sewerage Scheme was implemented about 12 years ago. Meanwhile the hapless people are at their wits’ end.

They said that inter-departmental coordination was the need of the hour and if need be a special committee should be constituted. Though Udhagamandalam was badly in need of a face lift even associations which claimed to represent the people such as the Citizens Forum of Ootacamund were doing precious little to galvanise the officials into action. Though the Public Awareness Association of Udhagamandalam was repeatedly focussing attention on the shortcomings in the town, remedial measures were conspicuous by their absence, they said.

Citizens forum president Motilal Kataria said that the Forum was not a ‘silent spectator’. Efforts made by the forum periodically to draw the attention of the authorities were being stonewalled.Udhagamandalam Municipal Commissioner Seeni Ajmal Khan said though the unfavourable weather and funds were a constraint efforts were on to spruce up the town. He said the drawbacks at Charing Cross would be set right within a few days.

Water released from Emerald reservoir

Ooty:Water being released from the Emerald Dam, near Udhagamandalam, on Tuesday.Heavy rain over the past few weeks have done a world of good to hydel and drinking water reservoirs in this hill station and its surroundings. However, the rapidly rising levels have forced the authorities to take precautionary measures.With the level having touched the brim in the Emerald reservoir (maximum 179 feet) and no signs of the inflow reducing, excess water was released on Tuesday.

The people residing along the water course had been warned through tom-tom about the release. Since the channel conveying the excess water had been widened standing crops such as carrots and beans had been affected only on a few acres, according to official sources.Pointing out that the situation was being monitored round-the-clock, they said that while the reservoirs at Avalanchi, Porthimund, Mukurthi, Pykara and Piloor were full the Sandynullah reservoir was nearly full and Upper Bhavani was only a few feet away from overflowing.

At the Parsons Valley Hydel Reservoir which takes care of the water requirements of a sizable part of Ooty, the defence establishments at Wellington and some way side villages, the level was 47 feet (maximum 58). The storage in many of the local reservoirs also was satisfactory.