Flood alert sounded along Bhavani river as Pilloor dam level rises

With the Pilloor dam, near Mettupalayam in the district, likely to reach its full level of 100 feet by tonight, a flood alert has been sounded asking the people in low lying areas on the banks of Bhavani river to move to safer places.

The dam level stood at 88 feet last evening and rose to 95 feet this morning, official sources said.

The dam, situated in Velliyankadu near Karamadai, is meeting the irrigation and drinking water demand of the population of Erode, Tirupur and Coimbatore and catchment areas in Nilgiris District in Tamil Nadu and Kerala are receiving incessant rains for the last few days.

The inflow into the dam was about 10,000 cubic feet as against the discharge of 6,000 cubic feet, resulting in sudden gush of water in Bhavani river which could be in spate in two days, they said.

Fearing the capacity will brim to full, the district administration has sounded the flood alert by tom tom and asked the people living in low lying areas to move to safer places, as the four sluice gates will be opened any time to facilitate the discharge of surplus rain waters, if the level reached at 98 feet.

The affected villages would be around Nellithurai, Mettupalayam, Odathurai, Sirumugai and Alangonbu, the sources said.