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Rain hits normal life in Pondicherry

Special Correspondent

Schools, colleges closed, action plan prepared

Pondicherry: With the Union Territory recording around 4 cm rain since last 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Thursday normal life was thrown out of gear. Schools and colleges including private institutions were closed in view of intermittent showers.

All schools including private institutions will remain closed in Pondicherry on Friday also in view of the incessant rains. The Joint Director of Education Mr Ramadoss said when contacted that all school premises would be available for accommodation if necessary of people affected by rain.

The Chief Minister, N. Rangasamy today asked the officials of the PWD to keep round the clock vigil over the tanks and also riverbeds in the interior villages of Pondicherry.

He told newsmen after visiting the villages to see for himself the rising water level in some of tanks including the Bahoor tank that with the inflow of water from upper reaches the Pondicherry tanks had been getting copious water and this would be of help for recharge of subsoil water.

The Commissioner of Pondicherry Municipality G. Malarkannan said that the civic body was keeping a watch on the rain situation.

As almost all the low-lying areas had already been filled and the level of the areas raised in a majority of pockets there was no complaint of rain water inundation here. However the municipality was keeping ready at its command some six tenders to ensure that any call for help was attended to and water stagnating in any residential area baled out.

An official source said that the Revenue and Disaster Management Department had already drawn up a detailed plan identifying the vulnerable areas and deployment of the necessary manpower to rise to any exigency.

Field staff deployed

The Commissioner of the Oulgaret Municipality T. Diagarajan said the civic body was well prepared to meet any exigency. Field staff including maistries and inspectors were deployed for duty and for monitoring the situation in various areas for immediate rectification, he said.

Sources close to the Local Administration Minister here told this Correspondent that a meeting was held in September at the instance of the Minister to prepare the blueprints both for Pondicherry and Karaikal regions to identify the vulnerable areas and also the requisite manpower needed to address the grievances of the people.

Opening of control rooms and operating them round the clock, utilisation of the premises in the close vicinity of the low lying areas so that people could be evacuated as a preventive measure were part of the action plan that had been prepared.

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