The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Now, the anxious wait for monsoon

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 09, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Now, the anxious wait for monsoon

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE, JUNE 8. The feeling of well-being lent by the summer showers and the rain that was later brought by depression is slowly giving way to anxiety over the South West Monsoon. As dark clouds hover over the Siruvani dam, people in Coimbatore city and the suburbs look skywards to reassure themselves that this time the monsoon will not let them down.

With predictions of the onset of the monsoon towards the second week of June, the areas that have been reeling under drinking scarcity for the last four years are eagerly awaiting the monsoon rain to begin.

What has lent some confidence to the water managers in the city and the local bodies in the suburbs is the heavy rain in Kerala, especially the Palakkad-Mannarkad region where the dam is located.

All eyes on Siruvani dam

While heavy rain from this month to early September will also mean immense benefit to the Pilloor scheme also, all eyes are on the Siruvani dam as it is solely dependent on the South West Monsoon because of its geographical location. If rain benefits the Palakkad region of Kerala, it is bound to bring dividends for Siruvani. The scheme depends mostly on the South West Monsoon as the North-East Monsoon is said to benefit the plains more.

Now, with hopes raised by the unusually heavy rain during summer this year, Coimbatore is waiting with bated breath for the South West Monsoon to set in. The situation at the dam, owing to heavy rain in Kerala, has also lent confidence.

Storage position

There is 26.63 ft of water in the dam (against the full reservoir level of 67.65 ft). There was 43 mm rain at the dam and 21mm at the Siruvani foothills today. It was around 22 ft in the last week of June, soon after a spell of heavy rain. The rise in storage by a little more than four feet now has been attributed to a good steady spell of rain in the catchment. It is this persistent rain in the catchment that has offered hopes of the storage in the dam rising above the consistently depressing level that left the people in the city and the suburbs a harried lot over the last four years.

Drinking water supply

The two primary reasons for the fervent prayer for a benevolent monsoon are- a long list of pending water connections in the Corporation areas, town panchayats and panchayats served by the Siruvani scheme and hopes of restoring at least alternate supply of drinking water, leave alone the daily supply that was stopped in June 2000.

The Corporation feels relieved that it did not have to cut supply further than what it makes once in four days in the city. The areas coming under other local bodies have not been as lucky. Supply continues to be made only once a week or in 10 days in these areas.

But, the resumption of normal supply hinges on a more than normal monsoon because there is still 41.02 ft to go for the storage to reach the full reservoir level.

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