Nilgiris continues to face downpour fury
Though the sky remained clear in the morning after intermittent rains at night, heavy showers began in the afternoon in Ooty and its surrounding areas.
A fallen tree being removed on the ghat road in Kotagiri
COIMBATORE: Heavy rains battered The Nilgiris causing mud slips and bringing trees down on Saturday. Tourists who gathered at Ooty to get a respite from the heat faced difficulties as rain wreaked havoc.
Though the sky remained clear in the morning after intermittent rains at night, heavy showers began in the afternoon in Ooty and its surrounding areas.
The tourists thronged Ooty despite the district administration issuing an advisory to avoid visiting Ooty because of the Orange alert. The tourists gathered at the Government Botanical Garden and Rose Park in Ooty for a flower show faced difficulties. Vehicles moved at a snail's pace on the flooded roads. Boating services in Ooty Lake were suspended following rains.
The floral models and flowering plants kept in the flower show were damaged in the downpour.
In addition to the National Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) personnel stationed in Kovai, 90 more were deployed to the district, an official said.In a meeting led by Gudalur RDO Senthil Kumar, it was decided to set up around 60 relief camps to shelter people from flood-prone areas in the locality.
Similarly, a huge tree crashed down and fell near Contour Canal on Saturday early morning hours causing traffic on the Valparai-Pollachi hill road. As vehicles began to queue up, the staff of the highways department arrived and removed the fallen tree to restore vehicle traffic.
