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Flood alert issued in Salem, Dharmapuri districts as Cauvery in spate

Following high inflow into the Cauvery at Biligundlu – the river’s entry point into Tamil Nadu, the district administration in Salem and Dharmapuri issued a flood alert to people living in the low-lying areas along the banks of the river in the area.

As per reports, the Salem Collector Rohini Bhajibhakare urged people in low-lying areas in and around Mettur dam to move to higher areas and make arrangements for taking their livestock with them as well. People have also been advised to not enter the river either for bathing or for washing clothes.

The Dharmapuri Collector S Malarvizhi issued a flood warning to people living on the banks of the Cauvery on Sunday.

Rohini the Salem Collector also said that the officials from the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Revenue Department have taken the necessary precautionary measures and have alerted the people living in these areas.

She also said that the disaster management control room at the Salem collectorate would be monitoring the flood situation round the clock and advised people to call 1077 in case of emergencies.

Rohini also said that around 80,000 cusecs was currently being released into Cauvery from dams in Karnataka and that the flow at Biligundlu is 45,000 cusecs. This is expected to touch 80,000 to 90,000 cusecs by Monday morning. The water level at Mettur dam also touched 83.5 ft on Sunday evening.

“Once the level in the Mettur dam reaches 90 feet, a report would be sent to the state government, for the Chief Minister to take a call on opening sluice gates to release water for irrigation,” she said.

As on Saturday, the cumulative outflow from Kabini and Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dams stood at over 50,000 cusecs. The Cauvery Neeravari Nigama had issued a flood alert to people living in the low-lying areas around the KRS dam on Saturday owing to the heavy inflows to the dam. The reservoirs across the Cauvery in Karnataka have been getting good inflows due to the heavy rains in the catchment areas.

Source: The News Minute