Heavy rain lashes ghat section near Bodinayakkanur

Heavy rain in Agamalai ghat forces schoolchildren to walk to plains, roads blocked, officials working to clear debris.

With heavy rain lashing Agamalai ghat section near Bodinayakkanur taluk in Theni district since Sunday, schoolchildren had to walk from the hill station to their schools on the plains on Monday.

Agamalai panchayat has Ooradi, Oothukadu, Chokkan Alai, Kannakarai and Kuravan Kuzhi, among other habitations. Hundreds of families live here. According to the villagers, they go down to the plains either in private jeeps or on ponies through Sothuparai dam area.

With rain lashing the hill station and surrounding areas, the roads were blocked either by uprooted trees or heavy boulders that had rolled down. As a result, children had to walk for about five km to their schools, they said.

The highways authorities, on information, reached Agamalai panchayat on Monday and, after ascertaining the situation, started clearing the trees. “It is likely to take another 36-48 hours to clear the roads to restore vehiclular movement,” an official said.

The villagers said the officials should have assessed the damages earlier and taken precautionary steps. By doing so, the normal life may not have been affected so much. After Deepavali, when the schools reopened on Monday, many children had to walk due to lack of jeeps.

PWD officials said that during the last 24 hours ending 6 a.m. on Monday, Periyakulam recorded 51 mm rainfall, Bodi 34, Andipatti 16, Sothuparai 15, Veerapandi 11.2, Aranmanaipudur 9.2 mm rainfall. The water level in Sothuparai dam stood at 126.28 (maximum level 126.28 ft) with the inflow and outflow at 357.81 cusecs. The surplus water was being discharged and the public were alerted to keep away from the river as the flow of water.