Portion of protection wall near Kollidam bridge washed away
After release of around one lakh cusecs of water in the upper Anicut (Mukkombu) on Wednesday night, around 72,000 cusecs of water was released into Kollidam and the remaining into the Cauvery.
Tilted high-tension power tower in Kollidam
TIRUCHY: Due to the heavy discharge of water into the Kollidam, a portion of the bed protection wall that was built to prevent soil erosion around the pile foundation of the piers were washed away, while a high-tension electric tower had also tilted on Thursday.
This led to a traffic diversion for a few hours in Tiruchy-Chennai bypass via No 1 Tollgate.
After release of around one lakh cusecs of water in the upper Anicut (Mukkombu) on Wednesday night, around 72,000 cusecs of water was released into Kollidam and the remaining into the Cauvery. The heavy discharge into Kollidam washed away a portion of the bed protection wall constructed to prevent soil erosion around the bridge (Napier Bridge). Around 100 metres broke away but officials said that the actual damage could be ascertained only after the flow was reduced.
Meanwhile, a high-tension power tower erected in the Kollidam river bed also tilted due to the heavy flow. The power supply was stopped as a preventive measure. Meanwhile, water flow at the Upper Anicut had increased to 1.33 lakh cusecs in the evening and around 98,000 cusecs of water was diverted into the Kollidam.
Stranded elderly man rescued
A 60-year-old man who was stranded on the Kollidam river bed while sleeping on the pier was rescued. He was unaware of the heavy discharge of water and the flood warning on Thursday. S Sasikumar from Lalgudi, a habitual drunkard, went to the piers on Wednesday night and dozed off.
When water flow increased in the Kollidam, he found himself stranded and raised an alarm.
He was holding on to vegetation until morning walkers noticed him. Soon Srirangam Fire and Rescue personnel rescued him after struggling for more than an hour.
