Taliban kidnap another Indian

New Delhi/Chennai, Dec. 24: Suspected Taliban militants have again abducted an Indian working in Afghanistan.

Paramanandan Simon, who belongs to Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu, was abducted along with his Afghan interpreter and driver in Herat province on October 13, official sources said today.

The 38-year-old, who went to the war-ravaged country a year ago, was working as a cook with Italian food store Fiano, which serves Italian soldiers in Afghanistan, the sources said.

The three were kidnapped while delivering food at the International Security Assistance Force camp in the Bagram air base, they added.

Simon is the third Indian in the past three years to have been abducted in Afghanistan, after M.R. Kutty, a driver of the Border Roads Organisation, and telecom engineer K. Suryanarayana. Both were killed.

Simon’s abductors are believed to have made a ransom demand of $50,000 (around Rs 24 lakh).

His wife Vasanthi has appealed to the abductors to release him, saying the family would not be able to meet the ransom demand. She also urged the government to ensure her husband’s safety.

The kidnappers allowed Simon to talk to elder brother P.G. Subramaniam, who works in Kabul.

Family members in India said Subramaniam had been receiving repeated ransom calls over phone at his place of work.

Simon did not have any security unlike other Indians who have gone to Afghanistan through the government. “Since he had gone through a private contract with the Italian firm, his security was the responsibility of the company,” a source said.

The Indian embassy in Kabul and the consulate in Herat are in touch with top Afghan authorities who are trying to secure the safe release of the kidnapped trio. The embassy is also in touch with Simon’s company.

The sources said Simon was alive but did not give any details.

The Taliban have earlier carried out attacks on BRO personnel engaged in the construction of a key highway between Delaram and Zaranj.

Implementation of NREGS "tardy" in TN: CAG report

Chennai (PTI): The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has come down heavily on the DMK government in Tamil Nadu for "tardy" implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in the southern state.
In a report tabled in the state Assembly recently, the CAG said the state government was yet to frame the rules for implementing the scheme, which is the flagship programme of UPA government.
The report on the Rural Development and local administration department headed by M K Stalin was released today by Shankar Narayan, Principal Accountant General, Tamil Nadu and Puduchery.
According to the CAG report, which comes a few months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the state had not finalised the envisaged five-year perspective plan till October 2007, though the scheme was launched in six districts of Tamil Nadu in February 2006.
The scheme aims to ensure 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household. "Scheme funds of Rs 100.46 crore remained unutilised as on March 31, 2007 with the District co-ordinators and village panchayats as the expenditure under the scheme worked out to only 65 per cent of the funds available during 2005-07," the report said.
Further, of 6.83 lakh households provided with work in the state during 2006-07 under the scheme, only 1824 households were provided with work for 100 days, working out to a minimal 0.27 per cent.
The report further found that the unemployment allowance which has to be paid to applicants who could not be provided with work within 15 days from the date of receipt of application, was not paid in any of the sample districts, Tiruvannamalai, Cuddalore and Villupuram in this case.

Law college gets new principal

CHENNAI: A new principal was appointed for Dr Ambedkar Government Law College on Tuesday, even as the police arrested four more students in connection with the caste violence that rocked the college campus on November 12. Four others surrendered before different courts in the state, taking the total number of arrested students to 27.
The government appointed Mohammed Iqbal, head of Tirunelveli Law College, as the new principal. Sridev, principal-in-charge of the college when the violence broke out, was suspended on November 13.
Meanwhile, four students were arrested by the police. They were Kubendran of Veeraperumanallur, Ravindran of Kikavarpet,Vetirikondan of Kurychipadi, Cuddalore, and Manimaran of Akkarayapalayam, Villupuram.
A Selvakumar of Tirukoiloor, Villupuram, presented himself before a local court, while P Velumurugan of Thittakudi surrendered at a court in Egmore and Meganathan of Malaikottalam, Villupuram, and F Sivaraj of Kalipalayam, Pollachi, gave themselves up before a Coimbatore court, police said.
As Meganathan and Sivaraj were below 18, they were sent to a juvenile home in Pollachi, while the remaining students were remanded in judicial custody. Eight are absconding.

Alakkudi to be made crossing station

THANJAVUR: Alakkudi railway station between Thanjavur and Budalur stations in the Thanjavur-Tiruchi section will soon become a crossing station.
Works taken up at a cost of Rs. 6 crore for converting the single line station into a crossing station would be completed by June 2009, Southern Railway authorities said.
The single medium level platform is being converted into two high level platforms with crossing. The station will have three broad gauge lines which can accommodate 24 coach trains. A new station building is being constructed. Platform shelters are extended to a length of 80 metres. A foot overbridge is also coming up.
“Cost, including for land acquisition, points and crossing, electrical and signalling equipment comes to Rs. 6 crore,” railway authorities said.
The advantage of converting the station into a crossing station is that trains may save 10 to 15 minutes. It is possible to run more trains through Alakkudi. After the gauge conversion of Mayiladuturai-Villupuram and Tiruvarur-Nagore sections more express trains can be operated.
At present crossing is possible only at Budalur station which is 17 km from Thanjavur. So when a train leaves Budalur, no train in the opposite direction can go from Thanjavur .

GMR Group's Ambala-Chandigarh highway project inaugurated

GMR Infrastructure Ltd has announced that GMR Ambala Chandigarh Expressways Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of the Company has inaugurated highway project at Chandigarh today. GMR Group's Ambala-Chandigarh highway project was inaugurated at Chandigarh on December 10, 2008. This 35 km stretch on NH21 & NH22 was executed on a BOT Toll model at an investment of Rs 500 Crore. The concession period for this project is 20 years and it took two and a half years to complete. The project has been completed within the time schedule agreed under the Concession Agreement and received its provisional completion certificate on November 14, 2008.GMR Group won this project through an international competitive bid from the NHAI in November, 2005. The scope of the project included widening of the existing 2-lanes to 4-lanes and improvement, operation and maintenance, rehabilitation and strengthening of the existing road. This project was GMR Group's first highway project in North India.The Ambala - Chandigarh stretch has one of the highest traffic densities in the country, catering to vehicular traffic between Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and New Delhi. Four laning of this road will ease the traffic congestion and provide a tremendous boost to trade and commerce in the region. Apart from reduction in travel time, this road is also expected to improve safety levels for travelers since it has been built as per world-class specifications. There is a 12-lane state of the art toll plaza for toll collection.Speaking at the occasion Mr. P B Vanchi, Group Advisor and Director said: "We are very upbeat on the future of Highway development in the country and are interested in the new projects which are being awarded by NHAI in phase III and V of NHDP. We have been shortlisted for a number of these projects and are currently evaluating them."The GMR Group has three more BOT projects under construction which are expected to be commissioned within the current financial year. These are:- Four laning of the 107 km stretch between Adloor and Pochanpalli on NH-7 in Andhra Pradesh at a cost of Rs 690 Crore.- The 58 km stretch between Shivrampalli / Faruknagar and Jadcherla, at a project cost of Rs 490 Crore. This road will be the main corridor for people commuting between Hyderabad city and the new Greenfield Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, also developed by GMR Group.- The 71 km stretch between Tindivanam and Ulundurpet on NH45 in Tamil Nadu, at a project cost of Rs 820 Crore.GMR Group already has two highways under operation - the 93 km Tambaram-Tindivanam stretch on NH45 in Tamil Nadu and the 60 km Tuni-Anakapalli stretch on NH5 in Andhra Pradesh. Both are annuity projects. With the commissioning of four new highways, the Group will have a balanced mix of toll and annuity based assets, totaling 420 Km in length.The stock was trading at Rs.62.90, up by Rs.2.60 or 4.31%. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs.63.50 and low of Rs.60.80.The total traded quantity was 1167614 compared to 2 week average of 1851878.

Villupuram seeks Rs. 179 crore to carry out flood relief works

VILLUPURAM: Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy said that Villupuram district administration had sought Rs. 179 crore from the State government for flood relief works.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Mr. Ponmudy said that cyclone Nisha that precipitated heavy rain from November 24 to December 1 in the district claimed 23 human lives and 54 cattle heads.

On the direction of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, already a compensation of Rs. 1 lakh was disbursed to families of 14 persons who died in rain-related incidents and another Rs. 1 lakh would soon be given to them.

In the case of Narasimhan from Andhra Pradesh who drowned in the river at Vanur, the heir certificate was awaited.

For those who lost their houses, a compensation of Rs 3.90 crore and 10 kg of rice were given, he said.

The Minister said that the work on the Rs 1.50-crore project to clear water stagnation from the new bus stand and the surrounding areas, would begin next week. It envisaged carrying the stagnating water to the Ponneri, he said.

The on-going under-ground drainage project would be extended to the Collectorate complex, the Tamil Nadu Housing Board quarters, Salamedu and Vazhudareddi.

He further said that the Villupuram park would be given a facelift and play things would be installed.

To facilitate this, the maternity ward would be shifted from the park to the nearby community centre, he said.

Mr. Ponmudy also said that two overhead tanks had been built in Villupuram and the laying of pipeline for the third one was under progress. A commercial complex would be built in the old bus stand, he said.

He said that the Chief Minister was scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the construction of two government engineering colleges, one at Villupuram and another at Tindivanam, in the first week of January, 2009.

On the occasion the Chief Minister would also open school buildings, two uzhavar sandhais at Ginjee and Ulundurpet, and hand over the 253 permanent houses to the tsunami-affected people.

Earlier, Mr. Ponmudy accompanied by R. Palanisamy, Collector, R. Janakaraj, Municipal Chairman , T. Kumar, Commissioner, S. Pushparaj, MLA, and Veerasamy, Executive Engineer of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board, visited the flood-affected areas.

Buses lack first-aid kits

CHENNAI: Accidents happen, always unexpectedly, and having a first-aid kit or disaster preparedness kit is just good common sense. However, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), Villupuram, does not seem to think so.
Though licences are issued to drivers and conductors only after they undergo training on first-aid for a stipulated period, the first aid kits are missing in almost all of 3,200 buses operated by the TNSTC, Villupuram.
“What is the use of this training without the first aid boxes in buses?” asked a conductor who preferred anonymity.
He said, “Most of our buses do not have these vital boxes and nobody is even bothered about it.” In October this year, pandemonium prevailed in a Puducherry- bound TNSTC Villupuram bus, when a passenger had a seizure soon after the bus crossed Mamallapuram, on the East Coast Road.
While a few co-passengers came to his help, the rest turned towards the bus crew for medical assistance. However, the crew could only offer a piece of sharp edged iron rod that ultimately proved to be useless under the circumstances.They were unable to do anything further to help the passenger. The reason: the first aid box was missing.
Though first kid boxes are mandatory in every bus, only a few TNSTC buses are fitted with boxes stenciled with ‘First Aid’; however, these boxes are also empty.A typical first aid box should contain emergency materials such as a tincture bottle, cotton and some band-aids.
However, sources in the transport corporation claimed that first aid boxes with dressing kits are available in the newly introduced bus, but reality is in total contrast to their claims.
Paramasivam, MD of TNSTC Villupuram, said appropriate steps would be taken to provide first aid boxes.

Rs 7.62-crore educational loan disbursed in Villupuram

VILLUPURAM: Collector R. Palanisamy disbursed educational loans to the tune of Rs. 7.62 crore to 329 candidates at a special camp organised at the Collectorate here on Saturday.
He said that following the establishment of two government engineering colleges and several private colleges in the district, literacy rate had gone up.
However, for want of financial assistance, candidates in rural areas could not pursue higher education.
Therefore, Higher Education Minister K.Ponmudy, Union Minister of State for Law K.Venkatapathy and the Collector had decided to extend assistance to the deserving candidates through commercial banks.
The Collector held discussions with the banks and they had come forward to organise a special educational loan camp on November 26.
But owing to rain, it was postponed . A total of 800 applications were received, which included those collected earlier.
Mr. Palanisamy said that the banks had already processed the earlier applications and 329 candidates were qualified to receive loans amounting to Rs 7.26 crore from State Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, Punjab National Bank, Karur Vysya Bank and Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank.
The remaining applications would be forwarded to the respective banks and processed within a fortnight. In case of rejection , the banks concerned would give the reasons in writing, the Collector said.

Work on 4,000 MW Cheyyur power project to begin soon

CHENNAI
: The Kancheepuram district administration will soon begin acquiring land for the 4,000 MW ultra mega power project at Cheyyur, about 100
km south of Chennai. The Cheyyur UMPP, along with a similar project proposed to be located in Marakkanam in Villupuram district, is seen as part of a long-term solution to the state's power problems. At present, the state suffers from a severe power crunch, with a shortfall of 1,800 MW in its existing demand of 9,000 MW. Official sources told The Times of India that of 1,700 acres of land required for the project, 800 acres would be government land, and 900 acres would have to be acquired from private land-owners. Three villages -Vedal, Sitharkkadu and Cheyyur - have been identified for land acquisition, which would begin once the state government gives its administrative sanction, which is expected shortly. The UMPP is expected to cost at least Rs 16,000 crore. "Once the land is acquired, which will be done within six months after the government's approval, it will take eight years to complete the project," the sources said. Both projects are to be jointly executed by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC). While the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) gave its nod nearly two years ago for the Cheyyur project, the one in Marakkanam is yet to get clearance. With an installed capacity of 4,000 mw each, these power plants will be the largest thermal plants in the state, and are expected to be a boon to the people of Tamil Nadu, who until a fortnight ago were forced to suffer from load-shedding for several hours every day. Though recent rains have brought some respite to the city, where power cuts are on hold, people in the rural areas still have to go without power for at least two hours everyday. One of the salient features of the Cheyyur project is that it will use super-critical technology, which helps achieve higher levels of fuel efficiency, thereby saving fuel and keeping greenhouse gas emissions low. At present, nearly a dozen such projects are in various stages of execution in the country. After some delay, mainly due to worries that land prices were very high and may ultimately push up the tariff, the state government finally decided to go ahead with the Cheyyur project. It did not want to change the project site to avoid any further delay.

Ponmudy gives away compensation

VILLUPURAM: Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy on Saturday gave away compensation of Rs. 1 lakh each to the kin of four persons who died in rain-related incidents in Villupuram district.
He said that 13 persons died in the district in wall collapse, drowning and electrocution. Chief Minister M. Karuanidhi had ordered for Rs. 1 lakh compensation to the families of the deceased under the natural disaster and social security schemes, and for the houses damaged at the rate of Rs. 2,000 each.
Later, Mr. Ponmudy, accompanied by Collector R. Palanisamy, inspected the Manimuktha Dam at Sankarapuram from which 10,000 cusecs of water was being released.
Though Sitheri at Kallakurichi was getting copious flow because of faulty sluices, water could not be released. Mr. Ponmudy directed the officials to repair the sluices without delay and keep the storage at a safe level.

Army airdrops food to flood-hit Cuddalore

CUDDALORE/TIRUCHI: Cyclone Nisha, which brushed past Tamil Nadu coast near Karaikal in Puducherry brought in its wake destruction and death, taking the toll due to heavy rains in the last four days to 51.
With rains lashing several districts in the north and the delta districts, several villages and vast acreage of crops have gone under sheets of water. The Cuddalore district administration has declared 126 revenue villages as rain-hit and has set up 96 relief centres to house the displaced.
A team of 40 commandos from the defence base at Arakkonam assisted in relief activities, including air-dropping of food packets in Thirunaraiyur and Nandimugam in Cuddalore district. The commandos rescued people trapped in flood-hit regions in the two hamlets with the help of 21 boats.
Meanwhile, in the delta districts, the cyclone left a trail of damage, isolating submerged villages from rest of the state. Orthanadu in Thanjavur received record rainfall of 65 cm in the last 24 hours ending 8 am on Thursday. According to officials 1.24 lakh hectares of paddy crops were submerged in Thanjavur district and 70,000 people were evacuated to safer places.
The state government has urged the Centre to despatch a team to assess the damage caused by heavy rains. Announcing a Rs 100-crore relief package in the first phase, chief minister M Karunanidhi on Thursday said immediate relief works would be taken up in the flood-hit coastal districts across the state.
Chief secretary K S Sripathi said as many as 1.35 lakh people had been affected in 1,380 revenue villages. A total of 54,525 people had been provided shelter in relief camps. Nearly 1,000 huts had been damaged completely and 2,000 huts partially.
The government had provided food packets to more than a lakh people and the administration had opened up 242 relief centres. Karunanidhi announced that Rs 1 lakh each would be given as solatium to relatives of those killed in rain-related incidents. About Rs 2,000 would be given as compensation to the huts that were damaged fully or partially.
Meanwhile, the water level in the Veeranam lake in Cuddalore district touched 46.5 feet and administration ordered that water be released and people living in vulnerable areas around the lake be evacuated to safer places. Similarly Villupuram district administration also directed for the immediate release of water from Manimuktha and Komugi dams and alerted those residing in vulnerable villages to move to safer locations.

Minister Ponmudy and Pushparaj M.L.A. inspects rain-hit areas in Villupuram, Tindivanam

VILLUPURAM: Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy and Collector R. Palanisamy on Friday visited rain-affected areas in Villupuram and Tindivanam.
Mr. Ponmudy went to the main bus stand at Villupuram and held a discussion with officials on draining the water that had stagnated there. Later, he went to Dr. Wahab Nagar and Municipal Employees’ Colony in Tindivanam, which were inundated.
He directed the officials to take speedy measures to clear the sewerage and prevent water-logging. He proceeded to the Veedur dam that was surplussing because of heavy flow. To maintain storage level well within control, the authorities had been releasing 6,000 cusecs from the dam.
Mr. Ponmudy instructed the officials to keep a close watch on the water level and ensure the safety of standing crops downstream.
MLAs V. Kannan and S. Pushparaj, Villupuram Municipal Commissioner R. Janakaraj, Tindivanam Municipal Commissioner Bhoopalan and officials accompanied the Minister.
On Thursday, Mr. Palanisamy inspected the flood situation at Soorapattu on the Villupuram-Tiruvannamalai Road and Pilloor, where temporary causeways were washed away. The Collector said that calls on toll free phone number 1077 were being attended immediately.

Hundreds of villages inundated

NAGAPATTINAM: Through there was some respite from rain after nine days on Friday, people continued to suffer as flood water is yet to drain in Nagapattinam district.
With breaches reported in almost all the rivers, hundreds of villages are waterlogged and over 3.74 lakh people are staying in the relief centres opened at 641 places in the district. Ten people were killed in the last three days. Principal Secretary to the Government Leena Nair is camping at Nagapattinam overseeing the relief operations with District Collector M Jayaraman.
Speaking to reporters, Leena Nair said Mudikindanaru and Arasalaru in the district were in spate and people of several nearby villages had been evacuated to safety. DRDA Project Officer Arunmani was overseeing the PWD operation to plug the breaches in the rivers in the district, she said.
Collector Jayaraman said the Chief Minister had ordered the administration to expedite the flood relief measures.
“According to preliminary estimates, the total loss in Nagapattinam district has been estimated at Rs 331 crore. Samba crops in 1.32 lakh ha have been damaged. Banana, vegetable and other crops have been affected in 1,010 ha,” said the Collector.
Jayaraman said the rain has claimed 10 lives in the district and the kin of the dead have been provided with Chief Minister’s solatium of Rs 1 lakh each.
PUDUCHERRY: The restoration of power supply, that was cut off for the past two days following heavy rains and gale, has bought some respite for the residents here, but the opening of Veedur dam in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu is causing a new concern for them.
The Veedur dam, now at 30ft against its capacity of 32 ft, has been opened and water will pass through the Sankarabarani River to Puducherry and hence there is a threat of damage to Puducherry. Similarly, of the 84 tanks in Puducherry, 83 are overflowing including the Ousteri lake, said the Revenue department officials. Three lakh food packets have been distributed to the rain-affected people who have been housed in marriage halls and schools.
The distribution will continue on Saturday too.
Meanwhile, political parties from Puducherry have sought rain relief for distribution among the affected people in the Union Territory. Puducherry Munnetra Kazhagam MLA K Lakshminarayan on Friday urged the government to distribute Rs 3,000 cash relief and 30 kg of rice each to the affected families. The CPM has sought a relief of Rs 2,000 and 25 kg of rice each for the affected families. In a statement, V Perumal, secretary of the local party unit, said farmers, daily-wage earners and labourers had been severely affected by the rain.
DHARMAPURI: Dharmapuri district collector P Amudha has issued a flood alert in villages situated in low lying areas near Vaniyar dam and appealed to the people to vacate and move to safer places.
According to PWD officials, since the dam, 55 km from here, is filled to its capacity of 65 ft, the surplus water is being released since Thursday evening.
A team of officials consisting of PWD and Revenue officials were deployed to monitor the situation in Vaniyar Dam, she added.
CUDDALORE: Cyclone Nisha has been a blessing in disguise for students in Cuddalore as they made quick money with sickles and axes removing uprooted trees in residential areas and other places.
The cyclone has uprooted nearly 2,000 trees in Chidambaram, Vriddachalam, Kattumanar Koil and Cuddalore.
As the trees were raised on soft soil they could not withstand strong winds and the torrential rainfall for past six days. The cyclone has destroyed about 2400 houses completely and 13,083 partially.
S Santhosh Kuma (15) of Cuddalore Municipal Higher Secondary School said schools were closed on Monday and so along with some schoolmates they were engaged in cutting the uprooted trees. He added that they were making Rs 200 to 400 per day as pocket money for the past three days and they used the amount to buy household articles.

Rain claims 10 lives in State

CHENNAI: Ten people were killed as heavy rain lashed the coastal areas of the State, inundating crops and forcing fishermen to stay ashore.
The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard struggled to patrol the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Bay as the choppy seas threw up waves that hit hard the sides of small vessels.
M. Naina Mohamed Natchiar (65) died when she came in contact with a live electric wire at Kilakarai. K. Santhi (26) and her niece Mahalakshmi (10) were killed when a wall collapsed on their hut at Naidupuram in Kodaikanal.
K. Amirtha Mari (55) of Sathankulam was killed in a wall collapse in Tuticorin district. Six persons, including two girls and two boys, a fisherman were reported killed in Cuddalore and Villupuram.
Over 100 boats were damaged on the Ramanathapuram coast at Mandapam, Pamban, Rameswaram and Tiruppalakudi. Over 200 families in Ramanathapuram and Rameswaram were evacuated to safer places. One Indian fishing boat was reported to have sunk near Kachchatheevu, after it failed to negotiate a huge wave. Fishermen on board were rescued by another boat in the vicinity, according to the Coast Guard. It put off repatriation of fishermen from Sri Lanka because of the weather.
Cyclone warning flag No 3 had been hoisted at Pamban and Cuddalore as the wind velocity was recorded at 55 to 65 km per hour.
Due to gusty winds, Southern Railway regulated the Madurai-Rameswaram passenger at Pamban on Monday night. The production at Neyveli dropped to a fourth of its installed capacity.
Dams were nearing their full capacity in the southern districts on Tuesday. Several rivers in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts were in full flow and tanks in many of the districts were getting filled up.
As 506 PWD tanks in the district were getting filled up, officials opened the Ramanathapuram Big Tank and the Sakkarakottai tank to drain surplus water into the sea. Breaches were reported at some places in smaller tanks. Paddy crop was found submerged at several places but farmers were hopeful that the water would drain in a few days.
Generally cloudy weather has been the forecast with one or two spells of shower/thundershowers for the next two days.
Rain continued to pound delta districts on Tuesday, disrupting normal life and causing widespread inundation of paddy crop. The core delta districts of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts bore the brunt. In Nagapattinam, up to 20,000 hectares may have been submerged, officials said. However, an assessment of damage was at a preliminary stage.
About 32,000 hectares of late thaladi and 25,000 hectares under samba, planted late in the district due to scarcity of water, might be affected by the heavy rain and possible flooding from the upper reaches. Crops submerged
Standing samba and thaladi paddy crops in several parts of Thanjavur district, particularly in Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Thiruvaiyaru, Tiruvidaimarudur and Orathanadu blocks were submerged in the continuous rain since Monday night. Samba paddy crop has been raised on about 1.05 lakh hectares and thaladi paddy crop on about 25,000 hectares in the district. Revenue and Agriculture officials said the crops would not be affected if the water drained quickly.
System tanks in Tiruchi, Ariyalur and Thanjavur districts under the River Conservation Division of the Public Works Department, Tiruchi Region, have been receiving heavy inflows. Of the 187 tanks under the division, 50 have reached full capacity.
The capacity of the Veeranam tank is being maintained at 45 feet as against its full level of 47 feet. As much as 2,200 cusecs of water was being discharged.