Flood fury overwhelms Villupuram, Railway suspends operations as water level rises over danger mark

CHENNAI: Villupuram district in north Tamil Nadu continues to reel under unprecedented flooding, and Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday inspected the region and interacted with the affected people and distributed relief to them.

With temporary suspension of all train services via Villupuram, hundreds of passengers were affected and a railway official hinted at resumption of services, by complying with safety norms, as and when the condition improved. The traffic on the key Chennai-Tiruchirappalli national highway, in and around Villupuram, was also hit.

The depression, the remnant of cyclonic storm Fengal over north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, weakened into a Well Marked Low Pressure Area on Monday, the India Meteorological Department said.

Villupuram town, nearby towns and villages, have borne the brunt of the rain fury and raging flood water gushed towards low-lying areas. As portions of a bridge was washed away, link to many villages near Aarani in Tiruvannamalai district was cut off.

With water rising above the danger level on an arterial bridge between Vikravandi and Mundiyampakkam in Villupuram, Southern Railway on Monday morning announced suspension of operations in that key stretch, leading to cancellations, diversion and short termination of services, which includes express and superfast trains.

Well-connected Villupuram is the easy link between Chennai, other northern parts of the state and the central and southern regions of Tamil Nadu. River Thenpennai is in spate in the badly hit northern coastal town of Cuddalore and Agriculture Minister MRK Panneerselvam inspected.

Western districts of Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri district too were overwhelmed by the flooding. Krishnagiri witnessed floods unseen in the past two to three decades and many vehicles, including cars and vans were dragged from a road into low-lying areas, shocking people. Road access from Uthangarai to towns such as Krishnagiri and Tiruvannamalai has been affected due to heavy inundation.

The IMD said: "The depression (Remnant of Cyclonic Storm “Fengal”) over north coastal Tamil Nadu & Puducherry moved nearly westwards and weakened into a Well Marked Low Pressure Area at 0530 hrs IST of today, the 02nd December 2024, over North Interior Tamil Nadu. The remnant low pressure area is likely to emerge over southeast and adjoining east-central Arabian Sea off north Kerala-Karnataka coasts around 3rd December 2024."