Night journey banned to Nelliyampathy till August 5, curbs on tourists to Parambikulam
Night journey banned to Nelliyampathy till August 5, curbs on tourists to Parambikulam
People have been cautioned against heavy rains and floods in the wake of a red alert declared for Palakkad until Thursday.
Several areas in the district, particularly Nelliyampathy, witnessed continuous rain and flooding since Monday. Several families were evacuated following floods at Nelliyampathy and Alathur.
District Collector Mrunmai Joshi requested the people to listen to the directives of the revenue authorities. She asked the people to voluntarily evacuate themselves from potentially sensitive areas where landslides or floods could hit.
Minister for Power K. Krishnankutty, who is in charge of the district, convened an emergency meeting of various department officials on Tuesday. He directed the executive engineers of various dams across the district to maintain continuous vigil.
He told them to maintain and monitor the water level in the dams and to remain in constant touch with their Tamil Nadu counterparts about opening of the dams there.
About 50 families at Vellathodu and Pappathodu in Mannarkkad taluk were evacuated to two rescue camps. About 50 people were evacuated at Nelliyampathy also.
Local bodies were directed to cut down trees and branches that were posing potential threats.
Night journey was prohibited to Nelliyampathy until August 5. Ms. Joshi said that there would be restrictions on tourist movements to Parambikulam until Friday. Similarly, heavy vehicles would not be allowed to Attappady between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. until Friday.
Several places at Nelliyampathy were under the threat of flooding as rains continued in the region since Monday.
Landslides were reported at three places in Nelliyampathy on Monday night. Landslips took place at several places on the Nelliyampathy ghat road. When two landslides took place at Cherunelly, another one was reported at Lily Estate.
Two dozen houses were flooded as the Nooradipuzha began overflowing on Monday night. The residents were evacuated to Padagiri.
