Unexpected showers cheer Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi residents

Unseasonal rains bring cheer to Tirunelveli after hot summer; Manimuthar Falls experience flood; Western Ghats record decent rainfall; Thoothukudi sees sudden downpour, water stagnation in some areas.

After the southwest monsoon played spoilsport this year also, unexpected and unseasonal rains finally brought some cheers to residents here following a prolonged hot summer.

 After being let down by the monsoons last year and with this year’s southwest monsoon rubbing salt in the wound, the storage levels in Papanasam and Manimuthar dams have reached a precarious stage. With the districts witnessing one of the hottest summers this year and the dry spell continuing in the catchment areas, the influx of water into the dams has been meagre over the past several weeks.

 Following the new weather system that had developed, Tirunelveli, which was experiencing isolated showers in some areas over the past two days, had decent rainfall along the Western Ghats on Friday night.

 As heavy downpour drenched Maanjolai, Naalumukku, Ooththu and Kaakkaachi areas of the Western Ghats on Friday night, the Manimuthar Falls experienced flood on Saturday. While Naalumukku recorded 16 cm rainfall, Kaakkaachi was blessed with 14.70 cm precipitation. Maanjolai and Ooththu recorded 8 cm and 6 cm respectively.

 As maintenance works were going on in the Manimuthar Falls area since August 29, bathing of tourists in the waterfalls had been banned for the past several days. When the maintenance works were completed, the forest department had announced that the visitors would be allowed to take bath from Saturday onwards. However, the flood in Manimuthar Falls dampened the spirit of the visitors on Saturday.

 While the Western Ghats recorded decent rainfall, a few places of Tirunelveli district experienced only mild drizzle.

 Rainfall along the Western Ghats in Tenkasi district was only trivial, which was enough to trigger flooding in the Main Falls and the Five Falls on Friday night. The flood subsided on Saturday morning and the tourists were allowed to take bath.