Rain lashes TN, red alert issued in 8 districts; CM reviews situation

Chennai, Oct 21 (PTI) As the Northeast monsoon intensified across Tamil Nadu, the regional weather office on Tuesday issued heavy rainfall alert to a number of districts, while Chief Minister M K Stalin reviewed the situation with officials and directed that precautionary measures be put in place in view of the downpour.

A 'red' alert was issued for 8 districts and an orange alert for Chennai for Tuesday, even as widespread rains lashed various parts of the state, according to the Met department.

Stalin reviewed precautionary measures being undertaken in the city and its surrounding districts and the Cauvery delta districts that have been witnessing steady downpour.

A red alert was issued to Villupuram, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Tiruvallur, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram, an official from the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) said. Similar alert was sounded for neighbouring Puducherry union territory as well.

"Heavy rain is likely in the entire north coastal belt, but extremely heavy rain is expected in the above districts," the official said.

According to him, an orange alert has been sounded for Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Kallakurichi, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari.

A red alert indicates extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert means very heavy rain of 11 cm to 20 cm.

In Chennai, CM Stalin held a meeting with district collectors through video conference and instructed them to keep relief camps ready for people affected by rain.

All arrangements should be made for people, including food, drinking water and medicine, he said, according to an official release.

To mitigate damage caused by rain, the CM advised the teams to be ready with necessary equipment like JCB machines, boats, motor pumps, trucks and saws.

Earlier in the day, Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin inspected the infrastructure development and renovation works being undertaken in the south Chennai area to improve the waterways so that flood water can easily flow into the sea during the monsoon season.

These works include deepening, widening, constructing covered canals with concrete walls, stormwater drains as well as desilting the areas where the canals meet the sea and the estuarine areas.

Udhayanidhi visited Okkiam Madhavi canal, where the work is being undertaken at a cost of Rs 27 crore. He also inspected the desilting work in Kannagi Nagar area, an official release said.

Relentless rains in and around Ambasamudram in Tirunelveli district for the past two days have affected thousands of acres of paddy crop harvesting, local farmers said.

Speaking to PTI Videos, farmer Subramaniam from Kakanallur village said that because there was no respite between south west and north east monsoons this year, there was no time to harvest paddy.

"Fields are still standing with ripe paddy. If it continues to rain, farmers here will be affected. One thing the government can do to relieve our burden is enable door-step procurement of rice as soon as we finish harvesting," he said.

According to him, even the paddy crop that some have managed to harvest could not be collected due to the early onset of northeast monsoon.

In several areas that the PTI team visited, paddy stalks are seen bent over, and in some places they have begun sprouting from the base.

Northeast monsoon has intensified across Tirunelveli, affecting agricultural villages like Mannarkoil, Ayan, Thiruvaalieswaram, Kakanallur, Vaigaikulam and Bramadesam. PTI JR KH SA