CHENNAI: Central Water Commission on Tuesday issued an advisory flood warning in downstream areas along Cauvery in Tamil Nadu, as Mettur dam is fast filling up due to heavy rain in Karnataka. The rainfall in Cauvery catchment area has caused massive inflow into Krishna Raja Sagara as well as Kabini dams. This, in turn, is being released into Mettur dam in Salem district.
The communication has been issued to Collectors of Salem, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Erode, Namakkal, Karur, Tiruchy, Ariyalur, Tiruvarur, Tanjavur, Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts.
The collectors have been asked to take precautionary steps and inform downstream areas of the release. This includes preventing people from bathing to taking selfies along the banks or in the river. Farmers have been advised to take care of the wellbeing of their animals while transporting them across waterways during the release period.
The advisory has further instructed collectors to evacuate people in the low-lying areas along the banks of Cauvery, Coleroon and tail end reaches of Bhavani and Amaravathi if required.
According to the Regional Meteorological Department in Chennai, light to moderate rains are likely to occur at isolated places over Tamil Nadu until the end of this week.