From inundating houses to damaging crops, the heavy rains that lashed the Central Travancore over the last couple of days left a trail of destruction across the region.
Water level in all major rivers across the region recorded a steady rise throughout the day on Sunday with Pampa and Achenkovilar crossing the danger level.
The villages on the high ranges had been on their toes in view of the intense showers though no major incidents were reported till the evening.
In view of the heavy rains, Pathanamthitta District Collector on Sunday issued a high alert for the district and banned travel to the hilly regions except for those in connection with the Sabarimala pilgrimage. A blanket ban on all quarrying related activities too was imposed.
Taking note of the worsening rain situation, the District Disaster Management Authority opened control rooms at all taluk headquarters, which will function round the clock. Health Minister Veena George held meetings with the revenue officials in Pathanamthitta to asses the flood situation and preparedness.
The Pampa, which flows in a spate, breached banks at several locations, also submerging the causeways at Karumbanmoozhi and Arayanjilimon. The flood situation in Pampa, which breached its banks at Pampa-Triveni, the base camp of Sabarimala, also cast a shadow over the preparations for the annual pilgrimage season.
Traffic along the major roads including the Punalur-Muvattupuzha State Highway, Main Central Road and Kumbazha-Malayalappuzha roads etc. faced disruptions, besides Mannadi and Pattazhy, near Adoor. The approach road of the Kaipattoor bridge across the Pampa sustained damages and steps were on to restore the portion on a war footing in view of the inflow of pilgrims.
The floodwater also entered several commercial establishments in Pathanamthitta, Adoor, and Pandalam towns. The heavy inflow of water from the upper reaches also began inundating the residential areas of Upper Kuttanad.
A minor landslip was reported at the Kunnida Vettamala village in Enadimangalam, in which two houses sustained partial damages. The run-off water from Achenkovilar entered several houses from Konni to Cherikkal near Pandalam, where several families have been relocated.
The torrential rains also triggered heavy inflow to the dams in the Pathanamthitta district. With its live storage touching 981.55 meters against a total capacity of 986.33 meters, a blue alert for the Pampa dam was issued on Sunday.
Water level in the Kakki reservoir crossed 980.33 meters while a red alert was already declared for the Moozhiyar, where the live storage was about 82.88% of the total capacity.
As on Sunday evening, 18 relief camps were opened across the district, which together accommodated 421 persons including 38 migrant labourers.
Kottayam
In Kottayam, the extreme showers brought the high-range villages including Koottickal on the edge as the water level in Pullakayar, which had burst its banks last month and claimed several lives, recorded a steady rise. However, no untoward incidents were reported till the evening.
Traffic along the Erumeli-Sabarimala route reported major disruptions due to a heavy gush of run-off water. The district received a total rainfall of 477. 4 mm during the 24 hours that ended on Sunday. Of this, the Mundakkayam region received the highest average rainfall of 94.6 mm.
In view of the heavy rains, Mahatma Gandhi University has decided to postpone all its examinations, which were slated to be held on Monday. A renewed schedule for the same will be announced later.
