Palar witnessing flows never seen before
The Hindu
About 1.65 lakh cusecs recorded at Vayalur
The Palar river, known for remaining dry ordinarily, has been witnessing historic flows, thanks to heavy rainfall in its catchment, including parts of Andhra Pradesh.
At 5 p.m. on Saturday, the river witnessed the flow of 1.56 lakh cubic feet per second (cusecs), as recorded at the Vayalur checkdam in Chengalpattu district. The river joins the sea downstream the checkdam.
Friday saw a rapid rise in flow from 43,535 cusecs at 6 a.m. to about 87,880 cusecs at 3 p.m., and about 1.65 lakh at midnight. Such flows are considered uncommon.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.