Lightning rod burns; stagnant pools dot city
Corporation staff pump out stagnant water in Race Course area. (Photo: DC/File)
Coimbatore: Coimbatoreans were in for a heavy spell of trouble after the downpour of Tuesday night left pools of stagnant water and slush and snapped power lines in the city.
A minor fire broke out at an industrial workshop when a flash of lightning struck at Eachanari. The power was so intense that it burnt the lightning rod atop a building at Eachanari but the fire was put out immediately, said a Fire Service official.
The walker's area Race Course, where the City's prominent people including the district Collector live, was dotted with puddles of slushy water. As always, the Avinashi Road flyover, Kikani and School underbridge were under a sheet of water. The low lying residential colonies like Ammankulam and Ukkadam were inundated.
"It was sudden and unexpected convectional rainfall. A depression formed in the Lakshadeep Islands has also favoured the rains in coastal regions and in some interior parts of Tamil Nadu. Hence there may or may not be traces of the rainfall in the coming days," said S Panner Selvam, professor and head of Agro Climate Research Centre of TNAU.
Coimbatoreans were in for a heavy spell of trouble after the downpour of Tuesday night left pools of stagnant water and slush in the city.
"I skipped my regular jogging at Race Course on Wednesday, as I found a pool of water stagnating on the pathway. It was also very slippery due to the presence of muck," said R Venkat from Ramanathapuram. Two wheelers and vehicles could be seen wading through knee deep water stagnating under the Kikani bridge.
"These are some regular spots, where water stagnates during every rain. However they drain out naturally," said an official from the fire service department. Luckily, the absence of heavy winds brought some relief as there was no major incidents of tree fall or untoward incidents.
Corporation Deputy Commissioner P Gandhimathi said that the civic body has been pumping out water stagnating in low lying areas. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) experts said that there may or may be traces of rainfall in the next few days.
Mr Panner Selvam, S Panner Selvam, professor and head of Agro Climate Research Centre of TNAU, also said that the North East Monsoon will begin only in October and the rains, which lashed the city over the last two days could be taken as delayed South West monsoon.
Meanwhile Peelamedu (airport), Periyanaick enpalayam, TNAU and its surrounding areas witnessed the maximum rainfall of more than 50 mm, according to the report by disaster management and mitigation department. The entire district witnessed a total of 310 mm of rainfall.
63 power breakdowns in one night:
On a night of heavy rainfall, there were 63 power breakdowns in Coimbatore circle on Tuesday. "Normally, there will be less than 10 breakdowns, but it was more on Tuesday night due to the rains. Power breakdowns during rains are only common and we are fully prepared to tackle the problem. Our staff are on their toes attending to emergencies and minimum time is taken to sort out the problems," said a Tangedco official.
The Coimbatore circle comprises Coimbatore, Tirupur and Nilgiris districts. "No load-shedding has been imposed as we received adequate power. Our consumption demand of 34 million units is met and there is no short supply in distribution. However, power has been stopped in certain areas for taking up repair works to enhance the distribution system," he said.
( Source : dc )
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