Noyyal floods as Coimbatore receives copious amount of rain

Heavy rain ravages Coimbatore district; Noyyal river, Selva Chintamani tank overflow, frothing at Vellalore barrage. Multiple landslips, fallen trees block roads to Coimbatore. Chithira Chavadi anicut sees increased outflow, Siruvani dam water level rises. Pradeep Kumar missing, body of unidentified woman found. Tourism Minister, MP inspect rain-affected areas.

Following widespread rain that lashed Coimbatore district Wednesday night, the Noyyal river and the Selva Chintamani tank witnessed an overflow of water, leading to breaches at the Chithira Chavadi anicut and the Puttiviki barrage.

The Chithira Chavadi anicut saw an increased outflow of 3010 cusecs at 9 a.m. on Thursday, surpassing the daily average of 1,700 cusecs. Subsequently, as rains decreased, the outflow dropped to 1960 cusecs. Residents also observed water frothing at the Vellalore barrage, where the surfactant level is 0.5 mg/L, higher than the normal 0.2 mg/L, according to official data.

Claiming that the froth occurs due to the inflow of surplus fresh water, District Environment Engineer of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Coimbatore south, R. Chandrasekaran told The Hindu, “We will check pollution levels again. But, unless sewage treatment plants (STPs) are set-up along the river bank, the issue cannot be resolved. Proposals are in place to set-up a few STPs soon.”

In the city, surplus water inflow was witnessed at the Selva Chintamani tank, which was released after blockages in the outlet channel were cleared on Thursday. “We have also raised the catchment area wall to prevent the tank from flooding. There is no cause for alarm because the tank can accommodate more water,” Corporation Commissioner M. Sivaguru Prabhakaran said.

After Mettupalayam received 373 mm of rainfall, Coimbatore District Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati declared a holiday for 193 schools in Karamadai panchayat on Thursday. As per Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) data, Coimbatore city recorded a maximum rainfall of 93.80 mm in P. N. Palayam on November 23, with a cumulative rainfall of 1013.30 mm.

The water level at Siruvani dam, which received 77 mm of rainfall in the catchment area, has risen to 35 ft., as against the full reservoir level of 49.53 ft.

The Forest Department closed Kovai Courtallam to visitors on Thursday due to heavy inflow following copious rain in catchment areas. It had opened the tourism spot to visitors after a gap of 12 days on Tuesday.