The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Collector inspects flood damage in Nagapattinam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Collector inspects flood damage in Nagapattinam

By our Staff Reporter

NAGAPATTINAM, NOV.16. The Nagapattinam Collector, M. Veera Shanmugha Moni, today inspected roads that were damaged in the recent heavy rains. He also inspected submerged samba paddy crops in the Nagapattinam, Kilvelur and Thalainayar blocks.

Mr. Moni, accompanied by irrigation and highways officials, inspected several heavily damaged roads, including the Velankanni to Vedaranyam State Highways road at Nagakodaiyan village.

Officials instructed

After inspecting the submerged samba paddy crops in the Tirumarugal block, Mr. Moni instructed irrigation officials to take immediate steps to drain the water through the regulators. He asked highways officials to take quick steps to repair the roads for free flow of traffic on the Velankanni-Vedaranyam road.

Mr. Moni told The Hindu that the Government had sanctioned Rs.1.50 crores so far for carrying out repair and relief works in the rain-hit areas in the district and said he had speeded up the work. He said officials of the revenue and agriculture departments would finish assessing damages to the paddy crop in a few days.

Mr. Moni said except in some parts of Nagapattinam, Thalainayar and Vedaranyam taluks, water had started receding.

He said revenue officials in Vedaranyam, Thalainayar and Nagapattinam taluks were taking action to remove the unauthorised prawn farms that had come up on poromboke lands in the coastal areas, thereby inundating paddy fields.

No rainfall

No appreciable rainfall was recorded in the Cauvery delta region of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts since last night. The respite, after nearly 20 days, came as a great relief to farmers.

Farmers in many places in the delta are now trying to save at least 50 per cent of the submerged samba paddy crops. While the water had receded in most places, paddy crops are still submerged in most areas in Nagapattinam, Thalainayar and Vedaranyam taluks.

Water supply from the Mettur reservoir remained suspended for the Cauvery delta irrigation. Similarly, water supply from the Grand Anicut remained suspended in the Cauvery, Vennar and Grand Anicut Canal river systems this evening.

However, the huge quantity of rainwater received at the Grand Anicut is being let into the Coleroon river.

There was a slight fall in the inflow into the Mettur reservoir this evening at 8,377 cusecs against 9,068 cusecs last evening. Water level in the dam stood at 101.25 feet (full level 120 feet) this evening and the storage was 66.47 tmc feet (full capacity 93.4 tmc feet). Discharge from the dam is being maintained at 100 cusecs.

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