Thiruvananthapuram, May 27 (PTI) Continuing heavy rains threw normal life out of gear in Kerala on Tuesday, disrupting rail and road traffic in many places, flooding low-lying areas and causing crores of rupees worth destruction of agricultural crops.
Incessant downpour, accompanied by gusty winds, for the last four days took a great toll on hectares of agricultural land across the state, especially in the high ranges.
In Wayanad, 242.74 hectares of farmland have been destroyed due to rains, flooding and strong winds, while agricultural crops in 101.47 hectares of land have been lost in neighbouring Kozhikode district, authorities said.
The falling of uprooted trees on railway tracks has caused great concern in northern districts since last night.
An electric line fell upon the track in the Kozhikode-Areekode route following the uprooting of a huge tree, authorities said.
It took a few hours for the authorities to clear the track and restore the normal train traffic on the route.
According to railway sources, many trains, including Thiruvananthapuram-bound Vande Bharat Express and Parasuram Express, reached their destinations late.
Water levels in rivers have been steadily increasing, and a large number of houses located in low-lying areas were flooded in the northern Wayanad district, where there has been no respite from heavy rains for the last several days.
In many inundated areas, it could be seen that people were using fibre boats to reach safer places.
Hundreds of people, including those from isolated tribal hamlets, were shifted to relief camps, authorities said.
Reports of destruction of houses and loss of agricultural crops came from the high ranges of Ernakulam district, especially from the Kothamangalam area.
Huge boulders which fell onto the roads from the hills disrupted traffic for some time in highrange Kallar near Thiruvananthapuram.
The rain situation in the northern district of Kannur was not different, as incidents of mudslides and inundation of low-lying areas were reported from there too.
Earlier in the day, Revenue Minister K Rajan told reporters here that as many as 607 houses have been destroyed across the state due to intense rains.
Of them, 21 houses were destroyed completely, he said.
The disruption of power supply for houses triggered people’s protests in many places.
TV channels showed a section of people, including women, protesting at an office of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) in Pathanamthitta district.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had sounded a ‘red alert’ in Kozhikode, Kannur and Wayanad districts and an ‘orange alert’ in Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kasaragod for Tuesday.
Strong westerlies are likely to continue at lower tropospheric levels over the Kerala and Lakshadweep region during the next five days, it said.
“Fairly widespread to widespread light/moderate rainfall accompanied with thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds speed reaching 40-50 kmph with isolated heavy rainfall likely over Kerala, during 27-30 May,” an IMD statement said.
In view of the rain alerts, the district authorities declared a holiday for educational institutions in Wayanad and Kozhikode. PTI LGK SA
Category: Breaking News
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