Collector Anand Mohan inspects preliminary work for monsoon preparedness at Karuppanthurai in Tirunelveli on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
As heavy downpour is likely to pound the district during the ensuing Northeast monsoon, thanks to the effects of ‘Super El-Nino’ this year, District Collector Anand Mohan inspected on Saturday the vulnerable areas in Tirunelveli city and discussed with the officials about the precautionary measures being taken so far to assuage the impact.
“Since most of the weather predictions anticipate heavy downpour within short duration during the Northeast monsoon this year due to the El-Nino effect resulting in severe flooding, we’re inspecting these spots to take every precautionary measure based on the past experiences to save the public and the infrastructure,” said Mr. Anand Mohan during the inspection.
When an immensely powerful cyclonic circulation triggered extreme downpour between December 17 and 19, 2023, several parts of the twin towns of Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai that never experienced water stagnation even during monsoons were badly marooned. With drinking water and power supply remaining paralysed completely for more than 48 hours, the official machinery, led by then District Collector K.P. Karthikeyan, steadfastly faced the situation to bring back normalcy at the earliest.
Having learnt a bunch of ‘unfamiliar lessons’ during this disaster, the newly evolved solutions were now being applied in the vulnerable areas to neutralise the anticipated impacts during this Northeast monsoon.
As part of this inspection, Mr. Anand Mohan on Saturday visited Xavier Colony, Kurunthudaiyarpuram, Kayilasapuram, Ganesapuram, C.N. Village, Anna Nagar, Meenakshipuram, Tirunelveli Junction Bus-Stand, Vannarpet and the adjoining areas, all experienced severe flooding in mid-December 2023.
The Collector inspected all storm water drain channels in these places and asked the officials to de-clog all these canals before September-end. “Unlike other towns, we’ve got good number of storm water canals across Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai that can drain instantly the stagnant rainwater to the nearby pond or tank or Tamirabharani. Hence, desilt all canals and remove all encroachments, if any, without any delay and in unbiased manner. This exercise should be completed before September-end so that we’ll be ready to face any challenge in the first week of October itself,” said Mr. Anand Mohan, who cautioned the officials against being slack.
He also instructed the officials to keep sufficient men and materials ready for the relief and rescue operations.
“You can contact me anytime in this connection if you encounter any obstacle in translating these instructions into action,” the Collector assured.
Executive Engineer of Tirunelveli Corporation Ashok Kumar accompanied the Collector during the inspection.
Published – September 19, 2026 07:24 pm IST
