KANYAKUMARI: Around 200 ‘Ayyapa devotees’ have been trapped inside the renowned and popular Thanumalaiyan temple at Suchindram on the banks of Pazhayar river in Kanyakumari district as flood waters entered the temple on Friday. It was a sleepless night for the residents of Suchindram as water level at the Pazhayar river had risen above the danger mark. Adding to their woes, the nearby Putheri Periya tank breached in the wee hours of Friday and its waters joined the already flooded Pazhayar river, to surround the entire Suchindram town. Families in around 350 houses located around the temple on the four car streets got trapped, as water entered their houses forcing them to take refuge on the rooftops.
Even the temple became an unsafe place for Suchindram residents, as the flood waters gushed into the ‘Garbagraha (sanctum sanctorum)’ of the historic Thanumalaiyan temple to knee-deep level. Around 200 Ayyappa devotees staying at the temple corridor on Thursday night were also trapped inside, but were rescued later by men from four companies of the state and the central disaster management teams, who worked in coordination with the fire and rescue services personnel and local fishermen. They jointly moved out the devotees safely by around 8 am this morning.
The fishermen from the nearby coastal hamlet Pallam were of great help to the government-sent rescue teams. Around 100 fishermen from Pallam, using their fibre boats plunged in to the mission, unmindful of the risks involved as the water currents in the Pazhayar river spun intensely. The government rescue teams also safely ferried around 500 people who cried for help at Keelaputheri village across the Pazhayaru river to safer places with the help of the local fishermen.
The Tamil Nadu Revenue minister R B Udayakumar, who rushed to Kanyakumari district the previous day, personally monitored the search and rescue operations at Suchindram since morning. Later speaking to media persons at Suchindram, the minister appreciated the quick response of the four companies of the disaster management teams, the fire and rescue services personnel and the local fishermen in saving the people during the emergency. The minister added that around 1,044 people from the much affected areas in the district were rescued and made to stay in 16 relief camps, where the people were provided with food, medicine and all the other essential things.
