Houses flooded in Bhavani, 90 families moved to flood-relief camps

Some families stay put in their places keeping a close watch over the situation

Over 60 houses in Bhavani were flooded as the volume of water discharged from Stanley Reservoir in Mettur into Cauvery continued to be at 1.33 lakh cusecs on Monday. Ninety families were moved to three flood-relief camps.

Water entered houses located close to the river and in low-lying areas at Cauvery Nagar, Kandanpattarai, Pasavaeshwar Street, Palakarai Street and residents, along with their belongings, moved to three camps in the area. Food from Amma canteens were provided to them and medical camps were also conducted. Officials and workers from Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) disconnected power supply to many of the houses to prevent untoward incidents. Workers from Bhavani municipality sprayed bleaching powder at the flood-hit area while Revenue Department officials continued to monitor the flow of water and issue warnings regularly.

Many residents said though their houses were not flooded, they moved to the camps as snakes and insects from the river started entering their houses. “Since the flow of water is more now, sewage water started entering the house and we shifted our belongings to the temple,” said Pappa, 55, who has been living at Palakarai Street for the last 50 years.

Another resident Periyasamy, 46, of Cauvery Nagar, said that many families had moved to their relatives’ houses in the area while others had stayed back. “We live in fear as the water flow may go up any time. Only if the discharge is over two lakh cusecs, water will enter our houses and we will move to the camps,” he added.

Revenue officials are closely monitoring the situation round-the-clock at Nerinjipettai, Karungalpalayam and at Kodumudi where many houses are located along the river banks. Officials said the situation was not critical in the district and they continued to monitor the flow of water in the river.