Unicaus NEWS
The rain that started pouring in various parts of Ramanathapuram district, including Rameswaram, Mandapam, Pamban, and Thangachimadam, on Friday afternoon continued till midnight on Saturday.
Heavy rain, along with intermittent drizzle, lashed the coastal areas around Rameswaram. As cyclone warning signal number 4 has been hoisted at the Pamban port, over the last 24 hours, close to more than 74 mm was recorded in Rameswaram, Pamban, Mandapam, and Thangachimadam areas.
Due to the continuous heavy rain, rainwater entered hundreds of houses in areas including Anna Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Thiruvalluvar Nagar, Natarajapuram, and Pamban Chinnapalam in Rameswaram.
Rainwater flows on Rameswaram road at Thangachimadam on Saturday. | Photo Credit: BALACHANDAR L
As household items, cots, and vessels were seen floating in the water that had inundated most of the houses, people protected themselves from snakes and other reptiles by staying on cots and elevated places with their children. Most families also relocated to relief camps set up in the area.
Residents walking in waterlogged street at Gandhi Nagar in Rameswaram on Saturday. | Photo Credit: BALACHANDAR L
In some areas, as rainwater mixed with sewage entered houses and drinking water sumps, public feared spread of infectious diseases. Residents expressed their distress, stating they live in fear as venomous creatures like snakes and centipedes enter their homes from the stagnant water at night.
They added, they have appealed to the local body administration of Rameswaram, Pamban and Mandapam to drain the stagnant rainwater from their areas.
Furthermore, as rainwater inundated most of the low-lying areas in the district, residents were seen carrying their pets, such as dogs and cats, and livestock like goats, to higher ground in other areas.
Residents fear that rainwater mixed with sewage entered houses in Rameswaram on Saturday. | Photo Credit: BALACHANDAR L
The continuous rainfall along with strong winds have also affected the livelihood of fishermen as they had not venture into the sea for the past five days. Some have even suffered property loss like boats, nets and fishing equipment to the gale that lasted for more than two days.
Train service resumed
As the announcement of heavy rains was followed by suspension of train services to Rameswaram and nearby railway stations, the rail link to Rameswaram via the Pamban Bridge was resumed on Friday as the rain subsided.
Trains including Chennai-Rameswaram and Tambaram-Rameswaram were terminated at Mandapam. The Rameswaram-Madurai-Rameswaram passenger trains only operated up to Uchipuli. Some trains arriving from North Indian states operated from Ramanathapuram and Manamadurai.
Following this, as the wind speed slowed down in the Pamban area after Friday afternoon, the decision was made to operate trains on the Pamban Rail Bridge, said railway officials.
To facilitate this, an electric engine was operated alone at a low speed over the bridge from Mandapam for testing.
Officials added, the trial run was conducted to inspect the high-voltage wires installed on the new Pamban Rail Bridge for any damage, to check for any issues with the connections, and to verify the functionality of the anemometer device, which measures wind speed on the Pamban Bridge.
Since everything functioned properly during the trial run, a subsequent test was performed by operating a train with empty coaches and no passengers from Mandapam railway station to Rameswaram, railway officials noted.
As the sea returned to normal conditions and the speed of the wind diminished, the passenger train that arrived in Rameswaram from Madurai reached Rameswaram Railway Station via the Pamban bridge on Friday evening.
Following this, the Rameswaram-Chennai Egmore Superfast Express, Rameswaram-Chennai Egmore Express, Rameswaram-Kanyakumari Express, and Rameswaram-Madurai Passenger train departed and were operated from Rameswaram.
Similarly, passenger trains that arrived from Madurai to Rameswaram, and the Bhubaneswar-Rameswaram Express, were also operated all the way to Rameswaram.
Restrictions in Kodaikanal
As drizzle was observed in Dindigul and Theni district, access to key tourist spots in Kodaikanal, including Pillar Rock, Guna Cave, Pine Forest, Moir Point, and Berijam forest area, was restricted to tourists.
