Rain offers relief to districts, eludes Chennai

Monday and there was heavy rain on Tuesday too resulting in surplus water flow at wellknown waterfalls. Most of the waterfalls in Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari districts were closed for tourists for the second consecutive day on Tuesday. Water flow at all the falls in Courtallam, including Main falls, Five falls, Old Courtallam falls and Shenbagadevi falls was very high. 

Heavy downpour was also experienced in Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar, Dindigul and Kanniyakumari districts. The  Kanniyakumari district administration announced a holiday for educational institutions on Tuesday. 

The ferry service to Vivekananda rock in Kanniyakumari was also suspended. In Coimbatore region, heavy rain that started lashing the hill town Valparai and its nearby areas on June 22 continued to intensify. Coimbatore District Collector TN Hariharan declared a holiday for schools in and around Valparai for a day on Tuesday. 

Landslides were also reported at two places. Heavy rain in catchment areas also facilitated flow of water into the Noyyal after about a year. Due to heavy flow at popular picnic spot Kovai Kutralam, the Forest Department suspended bathing from Tuesday. 

A  Met department official in Chennai said, “October-November is the time when the monsoon arrives here. As of now, Chennai is likely to receive thundershowers in the evenings.”