A view of the drainage canal at Neivilakku panchayat where a temporary causeway was washed away on Saturday. | Photo Credit: HANDOUT more-in The heavy overnight rainfall abated in most parts of Nagapattinam district on Saturday, bringing some relief to harried farmers reeling under the onslaught of the monsoon over the past 10 days. Heavy overnight rain battered Vedaranyam and the coastal town recorded 127 mm of rainfall during the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 a.m. on Saturday. The rain relented during the later part of the day, though overcast conditions prevailed. Nagapattinam recorded 85.50 mm, Thalaignayiru 85.60 mm and Tirupoondi 84 mm during the same period. The rain resulted in more inundation of paddy fields even as farmers were busy draining the water stagnant in the fields in an attempt to salvage the crops. The rainfall in Mayiladuthurai, Sirkazhi and Tranquebar were relatively moderate as the towns registered 27.60 mm, 22.10 mm and 25.80 mm respectively.However, mild showers continued in Tranquebar and Nagapattinam. Neighbouring Karaikal also received heavy overnight rainfall. Minister for Handlooms and Textiles O. S. Manian inspected some of the inundated areas in the district on Friday. He inspected Agalangan, Kurichi, Vadavur and Sembinandevi in Nagapattinam union and instructed officials to take steps to move people to relief shelters wherever necessary. He inspected villages in Vedaranyam area on Saturday. Food Minister R. Kamaraj continued his inspection of the inundated paddy fields in Koothanallur union in Tiruvarur district on Saturday. He said about 30,000 acres of paddy fields were submerged in the district out of the total cultivated area of 3.62 lakh acres. Causeway washed away A temporary causeway across a drainage canal on the Vedaranyam-Kariapattinam-Thiruthuraipoondi road was washed away for the second time in the past one week due to heavy inflow in the canal. According to local residents, the bridge at Neivilakku panchayat was being rebuilt at an estimate of about ?2 crore. In view of the work, a temporary causeway had been laid. However, this causeway was washed away on November 6. Following this, the villagers had created another pathway across the canal. However, this temporary structure was also washed away on Saturday morning as Vedaranyam area recorded heavy overnight rain. Following this, vehicles heading to Thiruthuraipoondi have been diverted via Kuravapulam.

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