Widespread incessant rain in Virudhunagar district on Monday that continued in some parts of the district on Tuesday evening led to the collapse of a portion of a road overbridge at R.R. Nagar on the Madurai-Tirunelveli highway.
However, no one was injured as no vehicle was moving on the service road under the portion when it collapsed at around 4 p.m. The accident took place opposite the main entrance of Ramco Cement factory premises. The interlocking concrete structures that were used by National Highways Authority of India for raising the wall to hold the earthen mound caved in for around 20 metres.
Local people say it was not the first time that the wall was collapsing as it has happened at least four times in the past. The police have cordoned off the area on the service road and vehicles were diverted away from the weakened structure on the bridge. The bridge has been constructed over the railway line that runs into the cement factory for loading and unloading of materials for the unit.
Meanwhile, Virudhunagar district has recorded an average of 38.31 mm of rainfall as all the 12 rain gauge stations across the district received a good amount of rainfall.
While Rajapalayam along Western Ghats received 74 mm of rainfall, Tiruchuli in the eastern end of the district recorded the second highest amount of 66 mm of rainfall.
The rainfall received in other areas in the district (in mm) is: Watrap 48.80, Kariapatti 48.60, Vembakottai 45.20, Sivakasi 33, Srivilliputtur 32.60, Kovilankulam 27.20, Aruppukottai 16, Sattur 15 and Virudhunagar recorded the lowest of 12.50 mm.
District Officer (Fire and Rescue Services) K. Ganesan said that men and materials in all the 10 fire stations in the district had been kept on alert.
Two boats had been kept ready in Virudhunagar and Rajapalayam for rescue efforts. Similarly, all the stations had motor pumps ready to drain water in the event of any low-lying area getting marooned.
Dam level
Rainfall along the Western Ghats greatly impacted in the raising of water level in Pilavakkal Periyar, Kovilar and Sasthakoil dams. In the Kovilar dam, the level stood at 204.55 metres (permissible level is 212 metres). The storage swelled by over two mcft.
Water level in Sasthakoil also increased to 100.8 metres (103.40 metres) from 99.4 metres in the last 24 hours. The storage increased to 15.74 mcft from 7.93 mcft.
The rain also helped with a marginal increase in the water level of Kullur Sandhai dam to 28.59 metres (30.20 metres) on Tuesday from 28.45 metres on Monday.
