Surplus water being discharged from Vaigai dam as storage reaches peak

As widespread rain in Theni district had resulted in steady inflow into the Vaigai dam rising for the second time in this year, the surplus water is being released into the river.

The PWD officials have appealed to the general public to stay away from the river bank as the water being discharged would criss-cross Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts in the next 10 hours.

The PWD engineers said on Sunday that the storage level crossed the 70 feet mark (70.06 ft) at 6 a.m. and it was decided to release 3,780 cusecs of water into the river. With the maximum level at 71 ft, the dam received huge inflow after the district experienced rainfall over the last three days.

While the intermittent rains ensured comfortable storage at the reservoir from the beginning of the Northeast monsoon in the region, the officials released the surplus water as a safety measure and appealed to the public to stay away from the river bank.

Bathing or cleaning vehicles or grazing cattle in and around the five districts nearer to the river shall be avoided.

Fallen tree removed

As a sequel to the rain, a huge tree was uprooted on the Cumbum Mettu stretch on Sunday. As the information reached, the district administration swiftly removed by deploying men and machines. The vehicular movement was restored within about 45 minutes, highways officials said.