FLOODS
IN THE PALAR RIVER, VANIYAMBADI
NOVEMBER
12, 1903
Ehsan Ahmed K (Vaniyambadi, Tamil Nadu)
A hundred years ago, the Palar River used to flow wide
and strong, but today, in the towns of Vaniyambadi, Ambur, Ranipet, and
Vellore, it has been reduced to a narrow drain. In late October and early
November of 1903, heavy rainfall struck several districts of Mysore, especially
Kolar, where it poured continuously for more than fifteen days. As a result,
over a hundred tanks overflowed, and several dams in Kolar, Bethamangala,
Bangarpet, and Bengantham burst, causing a massive flood in the Palar River that
submerged more than half of Vaniyambadi. Over two hundred people lost their
lives, more than a hundred houses were destroyed, and the town was plunged into
chaos, bringing life to a complete standstill.
This tragic disaster was reported by the then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, to Queen Victoria of England through a letter dated November 12, 1903. In that letter, he stated that the Palar River had flooded severely, dividing the town of Vaniyambadi in the Salem district into three parts and submerging more than half the city. News of this calamity appeared in several prominent newspapers, not only in India but also in Britain, America, Australia, and New Zealand.
I have collected news cuttings from the following newspapers from the internet:
* Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore)
* Daily Telegraph & Courier (London)
* Englishman’s Overland Mail (Calcutta)
* Evesham Standard & West Midland Observer (UK)
* Homeward Mail from India, China and the East (London)
* Liverpool Daily Post (UK)
* London Evening Standard (London)
* Preston Herald (UK)
* The Call (USA)
* The Evening Post (New Zealand)
* The Madras Weekly Mail (Madras)
* The Plymouth Tribune (USA)
* The Scotsman (UK)
Most of these news cuttings are brief, except those
published in the Madras Weekly Mail, which are quite detailed and
provide a comprehensive account of the incident. Along with the news reports, I
have also included letters to the editor related to this tragedy. Each clipping
is presented with both the original newspaper image and the transcribed text
for the readers’ convenience.
The news pieces are arranged in chronological order. I
had written an article on this same topic in Urdu last year on the same date,
and the link to it is shared at the end of this article. Altogether, I have
included 34 news items from the above-mentioned 13 newspapers. Although this
news appeared in many more newspapers across the world, most of those reports
were brief and repetitive, so I have not included them all. I hope these
selected reports help readers understand the situation of our beloved town at
that time when this devastating disaster struck.
THE
FLOODS IN THE PALAR
THE
DISASTERS AT VANIYAMBADI
(From
a Correspondent)
Vaniyambadi Town is divided into three islands by the Palar River viz., (1) Khaderpet and Govindapuram, (2) Fort, Amburpet and Rahimanpet and (3) Periyapet and Chennampet. Owing to the breaches of some tanks in the Mysore Province, the Palar rose to an unprecedented height on the night of the 11th instant. At about 2:30 A. M. on the 12th instant, the entire town was under water. There was from 10 to 12 feet of water in the streets of Chennampet, Periyapet, Fort, Amburpet, Rahimanpet and Govindapuram, and communication between Khaderpet and Fort completely cut off. About 1,210 houses, valued at Rs. 1,73,500 collapsed, and about 125 lives were lost. Some were washed away and some buried alive under the collapsed houses. The Acting Deputy Tahsildar, Mr. Thomas Komarason, was living in Fort and the telegraph posts having fallen down, he could do nothing. The permanent Deputy Tahsildar, Mr. Mahomed Ghouse Sahib, who had just arrived at the Railway Station on being relieved from his acting appointment at Yercaud, sent messages to the Collector and to the Head Assistant Collector. He then went to Khaderpet and had the houses that were close to the river vacated. While doing so he noticed two women being washed away on the Govindapuram side, and in trying to rescue them he himself was in imminent danger of being drowned. At Govindapuram 13 persons were buried under the debris of houses. Mr. Elden, the Police Inspector, Mr. J.G. Swamidass Nadar, the Medical Officer, and Mr. Mahomed Ghouse Sahib personally conducted the work of rescue and recovered the bodies, one child of about three months old being found living by the side of its mother. Property worth several lakhs was washed away, comprising grain, cattle, etc. Numbers of the inhabitants sought shelter in the few pucka houses in the town, otherwise the loss of life would have been far greater. The suffering and distress caused is naturally intense. The Head Assistant Collector, Mr. Moscardi, I.C.S., and the Assistant Superintendent of Police arrived at noon and inspected the locality, and on the 13th Mr. F.J. Richards, I.C.S., the Acting Collector, arrived. A relief party was organised and a relief fund was started. About Rs. 1,000 was raised and provisions were purchased and distributed free to the distressed in all the pettahs. Mr. Haji Abdus Samath Sahib also sent cloths to Chennampet and Periyapet for distribution among the distressed. In consultation with Mr. Mahomed Ghouse Sahib, Mr. Haji Abdus Samath Sahib, and Mr. T. V. Kandasami Chettiar arranged for the transport by ferries of the distressed and houseless from Chennampet and Periyapet. Dead bodies and carcases are being removed from the ruined houses. The scene is heart-rending in the extreme Thousands of persons have been rendered homeless and many have become paupers.
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: Thursday, November 19, 1903
THE DISASTROUS
FLOODS
The most disastrous floods that anyone can remember in
the district have occurred in the last few days, of which I have already sent
you a brief telegraphic account. Recent reports show the devastation to have
been even worse than was at first feared. The rainfall in the district has been
abnormal, and since the 7th instant rain has fallen with a steady
unremitting persistence more befitting the Western ghats in the S.W. Monsoon
than these maidan parts of the province. The result was that on Tuesday and
Wednesday last, the 10th and 11thinstant, alarming reports came in
concerning important tanks the bunds of which were in imminent danger, and on
Wednesday night the worst possible happened.
The Palar River, rising in the Nundydroog hills, feeds
in its course through the district a chain of large tanks culminating in those
at Betamangalam and Ramsagar, which are the last and the largest of the series.
Above Betamangalam lies the Hollhalli tank, also of very considerable size. On
the night of Wednesday, the 11th, this breached, letting a huge
volume of water loose, to rush down the river with overwhelming force into the
Betamangalam tank, which was already full to overflowing, and discharging the surplus
water over its capacious waste weir in a wave 15 feet high. Quite unable to
withstand the extra strain, the bund gave way badly in two great gaps, one of
which could not have been less than 300 ft. wide. Pouring through these breaches
the flood wept on, carrying away in its first wild rush the quaint old stone
bridge below Betamangalam village, and hurling itself against the massive bund
of the vast Ramsagar tank. It had been feared for some time that if the rain
continued the bund of this tank could not be saved, and now its fate was
instantly sealed. The flood, bursting through it, flowed on with irresistible
force till it poured into the Vaniyambadi tank, where temporarily it was held
in check. Finally, however, the strain became greater than the bund could bear,
and this tank also breached. The waters, tearing out, washed away half the
large village below. The people had been warned in time, and it is believed
that no lives were lost.
The damage to property, houses and crops has of course
been enormous, and hundreds of people have been rendered homeless and
destitute. In this District alone, the repairs of the three tanks mentioned
must necessitate a cost to Government of several lakhs. Betamangalam itself
will probably cost over a lakh, while the loss in revenue will also be very
heavy, and the disaster will seriously delay the introduction of the water
scheme to the Gold Field.
The scene of the devastation at Betamangalam is
forlorn in the extreme. The huge tank lies an empty waste, except for the
turbid Palar River flowing in its channel in the tank-bed. The flooded fields,
the ruined bridge, the gaping bunds, are all calculated to inspire one with
wondering awe at the vastness and fearful force of the flood. Amidst the
surrounding desolation it is strange to find the Yacht Club house standing firm
and apparently none the worse, though the water manifestly almost reached the
roof. The Club boats, too, suffered but little, and the members of the Club are
to be congratulated on coming out of it all with so little damage to their
property. Needless to say, on receipt of the first reports our energetic Deputy
Commissioner, Mr. F.C. Carr, promptly set off to take, in consultation with his
D.P.W. Officers, what steps were possible to avert disaster, and also to
endeavour to save others of the more important tanks in the district, many of
which are seriously threatened. Against a flood such as that of Wednesday night
all human efforts were, however, futile and nothing could have prevented the
calamity.
Here on the Gold Field we have been completely cut off
by road and rail from all communication with Bangalore, while the railway to
Madras is also breached and impassable. We have received no post since Thursday
the 12th, and no supplies from Bangalore can reach us, it is feared,
for several days more. Very great inconvenience was nearly caused to the Mining
Companies, as had the breach in the Madras section occurred a day earlier the
monthly pay of the vast establishments on the Gold Field could not have been
brought up from Madras. Fortunately, Mr. Warren, the agent of Messrs. Best and
Co., got through with the money just in time. He was, however, unable to
return.
Today has been finer and although a continuance of the wet weather is prophesied by the Brahmins for the next eight days, there are signs that the worst is over, and it is indeed to be hoped that this will prove to be the case.
Published in: Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: Thursday, November 19, 1903
THE
FLOODS IN IN MADRAS
COLLAPSE
OF HOUSES AND LOSS OF LIVES
MADRAS, Nov. 18
Owing to the unprecedented floods in the Palar on the 12th instant,
there was 12 feet of water in several villages including the town of Vaniyambadi.
About 1,210 houses, valued at Rs. 1,73,500, collapsed and about 125 lives were
lost, some were washed away and some buried alive under the collapsed houses.
At Govindapuram 13 persons were buried under the debris of houses. District
officers conducted the work of rescue and recovered the bodies, one child about
three months old being found living by the side of its mother. Property worth
several lakhs was washed away comprising grain, cattle, etc. Numbers of
inhabitants sought shelter in the few pucka houses in the town, otherwise the
loss of life would have been far greater. The suffering and distress caused is
naturally intense. A relief party was organised and a relief fund was started.
About Rs. 1,000 was raised and provisions were purchased and distributed free
to the distressed in all the pettahs, Dead bodies and carcases aro being
removed from ruined houses. The scene is heartrending in the extreme. Thousands
of persons are rendered homeless and many have became paupers.
Published in: Englishman’s Overland Mail
Published on: Thursday, November 19, 1903
SALEM NOTES
(From our own Correspondent)
THE DISASTER AT VANIYAMBADI
SALEM, 16th Nov. For two days (Friday and Saturday last) no newspapers or letters were delivered at the Salem Post Office owing to the breach between Ambur and Mailpatti. There were, however, persistent rumours among the friends of Mahomedans at Vaniyambadi that serious loss of life had been occasioned on the 12th instant by a sudden inrush of the river into the low-lying portions of the town. Report has it that several lives have been lost and that a large amount of property has been destroyed; several of the public buildings are under water. The Acting Collector, Mr. F.J. Richards, proceeded immediately to the place and was indefatigable in affording relief to those rendered homeless by this appalling incident.
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: November 19, 1903
THE FLOODS IN SOUTH INDIA
FURTHER REPORTS OF DAMAGE AND DISTRESS
MADRAS, Nov. 18.
Up to date the greatest loss reported by the floods comes
from Vaniyambadi, in the Salem district, which was flooded out by the
unprecedented rise of the Palar River owing to the torrential rain on the
Mysore plateau, and the breaching of the chain of irrigation tanks fed by the
river. On the 12th instant Vaniyambadi was from ten to twelve feet
under water, and all the inhabitants who could get away, took refuge on the
tops of pucka built houses. About 1,210 houses and huts collapsed, and up to
date it has been ascertained that 125 lives were lost, either through being
buried under the ruins of falling houses or being washed away by the flood.
Numberless cattle and most of the stocks of grain have been lost, and the
distress caused is intense. The Collector and all the officials rendered all
assistance possible in helping the sufferers, and a fund was raised for the
purchase of clothes and food for the present needs of the destitute.
Vaniyambadi is one of the centres of the tanning industry in the Presidency,
with a large Muhammadan population and the leading Muhammadan hide merchants,
though many have suffered severely, are liberal in affording assistance.
The weather apparently has cleared up all over South India and there is little chance of a recurrence of the disasters.
Published in: Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore)
Published on: Friday, November 20, 1903
THE FLOODS IN SOUTH INDIA
THE DAMAGE ON THE RAILWAYS
MADRAS, NOV. 19.
The extent and forces of the floods in the Palar river
may be gauged from the damage done to the railway at Mailpatti. On the east
side of the station, for a length of 1,340 feet, the permanent way has been
swept away.
At the station the floods rose a couple of feet above
the floor level, the west end of the platform being scoured away for 15 feet
below the ground level. The station staff houses were badly damaged, the flood
having risen to within four feet of the roofs. The railway bank on the west of
the platform was scoured away for a distance of 1,100 feet, the bridges being
left standing, but with immense scours at the base of the pillars and
abutments.
At Vaniyambadi the distress is intense and a public
meeting to raise a relief fund is suggested.
The Governor has sent Rs. 250 for the relief of the
sufferers from the Cuddapah floods. No further reports have been received as to
the state of the sufferers in North Arcot.
About 164 minor irrigation tanks have been seriously damaged in Cuddapah, and they have been emptied of the supply of water which they should contain now, and which will be wanted to ripen the spring corps, and if steps are not immediately taken to repair them the condition will be serious later on.
Published in: Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore)
Published on: Saturday, November 21, 1903
TWO HUNDRED PERISH IN FLOODS
London. Nov. 22 – A telegram received at the Indian Office from the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, says that according to reports received at Madras, a flood in the Palar River on November 12 destroyed half of the town of Vaniyambadi, in the Salem district. Two hundred persons were drowned.
Published in: The Call
Published on: November 22, 1903
GREAT FLOOD IN MADRAS
The Secretary of State for India has received the
following telegram from the Viceroy, dated 23rd instant:-
“Government of Madras report, owing to serious floods Palar River 12th November last, due to breached tank Mysore, half Vaniyambadi town, Salem, district, ruined. Estimated loss of life 200. Floods subsided; further damage not apprehended.”
Published in: London Evening Standard
Published on: Tuesday, November 24, 1903
The Viceroy of India reports to the India Office that half of Vaniyambadi, a town in the Salem district of Southern India, has been ruined by the flooding of the Palar River in consequence of a breach in a tank in Mysore. It is estimated that 200 lives have been lost.
Published in: Liverpool Daily Post
Published on: Tuesday, November 24, 1903
GREAT FLOODS IN MADRAS
200 LIVES LOST
The Secretary of State for India has received the
following telegram from the Viceroy, dated 23rd instant:-
Governor
of Madras reports;-
“Owing to serious floods on the Palar River, 12th
November last, due to breached tank, Mysore, half of Vaniyambadi town, and the
Salem district, ruined.
“Estimated loss of life, two hundred.
“Floods subsided. Further damage not apprehended.”
Published in: The Scotsman
Published on: Tuesday, November 24, 1903
FLOODS IN INDIA
A TOWN PARTIALLY RUINED
MANY LIVES LOST
Press association
Bombay, 24th November
Floods occurred in the Palar river owing to the
breaches of immense irrigation tanks in Mysore.
Half of the town of Vaniyambadi was ruined, and two
hundred persons perished.
The floods are now subsiding.
Published in: The Evening Post
Published on: November 24, 1903
DEADLY FLOOD IN INDIA
London, Nov. 24 – A telegram has been received at the Indian office from the viceroy of India saying that according to reports received at Madras a flood in the Palar river, Nov. 12, destroyed half of the town of Vaniyambadi, in the Salem district. Two hundred persons were drowned.
Published in: The Plymouth Tribune
Published on: November 24, 1903
The Government of Madras report serious floods on the Palar River on the 12th instant due to breached tank, Mysore, half of Vaniyambadi town, Salem district, being ruined. The loss of life is estimated at two hundred. The floods are subsiding, and no further damage is apprehended.
Published in: Preston Herald
Published on: Wednesday, November 25, 1903
THE
VANIYAMBADI DISASTER
(From
a Correspondent)
Vaniyambadi is a Municipal town situated in the north-east corner of
Salem District. The town consists of seven divisions, or pettahs as they are
called, i.e., Amboorpet, Rahimanpet, Fort, Neelikottai, Periyapet, Chennampet,
Govindapuram and Kaderpet. The rive Palar flows here through the valley formed
by the Nakkanamalais on one side and Veerannamalais on the other. Higher up
above the town towards the south the river divides itself into two branches,
the western one being called the Janappar, and the eastern the Palar. After a
course of a mile and a half these two join, making Periyapet and Chennampet an
island. On the other hand the Palar branch itself sends out a channel, 30 or 40
yards wide, on the west of Periyapet, which again falls into the united river
near the northern end of the town, making Amboorpet, Fort and Rahimonpet
another island.
Though the source of the Palar is from the comparatively small heights of
Nundidroog in East Mysore, yet it annually receives a copious supply of water
from several tanks of the Kolar District, of which the most important are
Somapuram Agraharam, Muthuvadi, Valayal, Bethamangalam and Ramasamudram tanks.
Higher up there are six or seven other minor tanks through which the Palar
runs. All these tanks seem to have breached in the recent floods. During the
N.E. Monsoon these tanks become full, and when breaches occur the river
overflows its banks causing no little damage to the villages and fields on both
sides of its course. Such occurrences have been rare since 1874 when the river
washed away a small portion of Periapet. The rainfall this year having been
more than the average the floods in the Palar have been unusually heavy from
the latter part of October.
On the morning of the 12th instant at about 3 o'clock the
river flowed over the town, almost submerging it. A small portion of the Fort
which is on a higher lever escaped. The Janappar, which borders Periapet and
Chennampet on the western side, poured down its swollen waters into the
streets, tearing away trees, houses and almost everything that the force of the
current could uproot. The latter being of lower level, the greater portion of
the diverted water forced its way to the Palar destroying more than half of Chennampet.
The Palar branch acting in a similar way rushed over Fort, Rahimonpet,
Amboorpet and Neelkottai, while the Govindapuram river which borders the above
on the east was equally violent in damaging hundreds of houses. Govindapuram,
the south eastern suburb, fared no better. Another rush of the Palar from the
side of Kodayangee, a small village south of it, sweeping over Thirumonjolai
fields, a most drowned Govindapuram, while Govindapuram channel did its own
work to the houses through which it passed. From 4 to 5 the floods were at the
highest. At half past 5 it became evident that the water was subsiding. At
day-break the three branches of the Palar were seen to roll down their roaring
waters at an incredible velocity, bearing down thousands of coconut and other
trees, as if they were mere straws in an agitated ocean. The floating down of
dead bodies, roofs of houses, house materials, boxes, and innumerable other
articles of all descriptions was a terrible spectacle. Except a few well built
houses, the habitations of thousands of people living in Periyapet, Chennampet,
and Govindapuram became a heap of ruins.
It has been found out by the authorities that as many as 1,210 houses
have been entirely destroyed, and their approximate value is estimated at Rs.
1,73,200. As regards the lives lost they have not yet found out the exact
figure. Up to the 15th the number came to 125. The loss of property
must be immense. Including the destruction of crops the loss of property may be
roughly calculated to Rs. 12 lakhs. The panic-stricken people ran in all
directions to save their lives. Some got upon terraced houses. Some clung to
trees only to be carried away with them uprooted. The husband forsook his wife,
the parents their children. In short the calamity that befell Vaniyambadi is
one of the saddest disasters that has ever happened to any place in South
India.
The inundation continued on, though within the widened and deepened beds
of the rivers. The people on one island did not know what happened to their
relations and friends on the other. Telegraph posts were thrown down and
messages could not be sent nor could the Railway station be reached. On the
very day however Messrs. Moscardi, Head Assistant Collector, and Blackstone,
Assistant Superintendent of Police, came to inspect the scene of catastrophe.
Nothing daunted, the two gentlemen, in their pity for the sufferers, crossed
the roaring currents of the Govindapuram and Palar rivers with the help of a
small ferry boat. The Deputy Tahsildar, Mr. Thomas Komaresin, in spite of
ill-health worked hard to allay the sufferings of hundreds. Mr. Richards, the
Ag. Collector of the District, arrived on the day following. The people of
Vaniyambadi should be ever thankful to that large-hearted gentleman for his
sympathetic feeling in having collected a sum of Rs. 1,000 for the purpose of
feeding and clothing hundreds of homeless and penniless people. The permanent
Deputy Tahsildar, Mr. Mohammad Ghouse Saheb, the Hospital Assistant, Swamidoss
Nadar, the Municipal Office Manager, Mr. Subbaroya Aiyar, and the Police
Inspector. Mr. Elder, all acted heroically in rescuing not a few from the jaws
of death.
I must not omit to describe the cause of this unforeseen terrible calamity. The Mysore Government, with a motive to profit their State by storing up water year after year in the above said reservoirs of immense size and capacity for the use of the Kolar Gold Mines, have constructed sluices to keep their waters in, instead of letting out annually the surplus water through the Palar which forms, as it were, a series of links to these dangerous tanks. It is by wonderful Providence that a greater portion of the town was saved. Lower down below Ramasaharam the Palar runs between two hills, the passage being as narrow as 60 feet in breadth. When the breaches occurred successively in those tanks there was tremendous rush through that narrow passage which brought down an immense volume of water resulting in the disaster I have just described. Trees and wreckage which the current had brought down blocked up the passage and the free flow of water was suddenly arrested. This is the reason why the floods very rapidly subsided and the flow of water in the beds of the rivers has been kept up, though decreasing day by day. Had it not been for that obstruction the whole volume of water of those tanks would have made Vaniyambadi a heap of sand. The Madras Government would do well to move the Government of India to call upon that feudatory State to make good the terrible loss directly caused by the measures of that Government actuated with pecuniary advantage to their own State, and to cease storing up water in those tanks as they have done hitherto.
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: November 26, 1903
THE
FLOODS AT AMBUR
Mr. Bangy Hayath Batcha Saib, Partner, Messrs. Bangy Cawder Batcha Saib
and Co. writes as follows:-With reference to the telegram published in your
issue of the 13th instant regarding the floods at Ambur and the
rumoured loss of Mr. Bangy Cawder Batcha Sahib's tannery there, I beg to inform
you that facts therein stated have been much exaggerated. There were no doubt
unusually heavy floods in the Palar, and much damage was caused to the
adjoining villages including the village of Vaniyambadi. But the tannery of Mr.
Bangy Cawder Batcha Sahib which was stated as having been submerged had only
about three feet of water within. The only losses worth speaking of are the
following:- Three bullocks, one cow, two buffaloes and an oil tank which were
all washed away by the floods. About 3,000 to 4,000 dressed skins and some salt
skins got wet and the cooly lines inhabited by nearly 250 families have
collapsed. The total value of loss is estimated at Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 10,000.
Later, The correspondent who telegraphed to us about the damage caused by the recent floods at Ambur now writes to confirm his statement, in contradiction of what Mr. Hayath Batcha Sahib said in his letter of the 19th instant. However, it is no concern of the public's what the later gentleman's firm lost; but, owing to his statement that the loss was comparatively small, our correspondent says that "the distressed people have suffered immensely. The belief seems to have gained ground in certain quarters that matters have been exaggerated and that there is no need for help; people who, under other circumstances, would have been glad to remit contributions have begun to withhold even sympathy, under the mistaken impression that the distress complained of is more imaginary that real. For instance, Rajah Sir S. Rimaswamy Moodelliar referred me to Mr. Hayath Batcha's assertion in reply to my telegram requesting him to extend his benevolence to the people affected by the floods here. Re the floods, I have only to add that in the villages adjoining Ambur more than 5,000 people have been rendered houseless, while not less than thrice the number have lost the little they had hoarded, and these have now been running for the grain which the Private Relief Committee, formed through the exertions of Mr. S. Sundararajiengar, is distributing.
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: November 26, 1903
AN
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
A correspondent writes:- The distressed people of Vaniyambadi express as a body their heartfelt thanks to the generous gentleman who, from his pity for the homeless and penniless, has sent you Rs. 50, and their high obligation to the Madras Mail for its kindness in undertaking to receive and acknowledge any sums that charitable gentlemen may send towards the relief fund.
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: November 26, 1903
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
THE DISASTER AT VANIYAMBADI
Sir, As your correspondent points out in your issue of yesterday, after careful enquiries I come to know that the sudden swelling of the Palar which devastated Vaniyambadi was due to the Mysore Government storing water for several years past in the large tanks which are near the source of that river, and the breaching of which caused it to rise so unexpectedly. It is not therefore too much to ask the enlightened Mysore Government to give at least a part of the loss Vaniyambadi has sustained, if not the whole, and I sincerely hope that the said Government will be generous enough to do so, for in doing so they are not only making good the damage caused by their action but they are also relieving those who need it so badly.
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: Thursday, November 26, 1903
THE
FLOODS IN MADRAS
MADRAS, Nov. 19
The latest reports regarding the recent heavy floods at Vaniyambadi show
that buildings costing about two lakhs were ruined, and property worth one lakh
of rupees washed away and nearly 200 lives lost. About 1,000 acres of paddy
fields are covered by sand brought down by the River Palar. Carcasses and
corpses are reported to be found all over the town, trade is seriously damaged,
and telegraphic communication has been stopped for six days. Messrs. Badsha
Sahib and Company have sent from Madras sufficient clothes with rice and salt
for about 3,000 of the distressed sufferers. The Governor has sent a donation
of Rs.250 for the relief of the distressed poor in Cuddapah.
MADRAS, Nov. 24
The Governor received the following telegram from the Maharaja of Mysore yesterday: “I beg Your Excellency to accept Rs. 250 on behalf of the sufferers of Palar floods, Madras territory, as a mark of my sympathy.” The Governor has subscribed Rs. 150 to relieve distress in Vaniyambadi.
Published in: Englishman’s Overland Mail
Published on: Thursday, November 26, 1903
FATAL
FLOODS IN INDIA
200
LIVES LOST
The Secretary of State for India has received the following telegram from the Viceroy, dated Monday: The Government of Madras report. Owing to serious floods on the Palar River on November 12 last, due to breached tank, Mysore, half Vaniyambadi town, Salem district, ruined. Estimated loss of life 200. Floods have subsided. Further damage not apprehended.
Published in: Evesham Standard & West Midland Observer
Published on: Saturday, November 28, 1903
THE
FLOODS IN SOUTH INDIA
THE
VANIYAMBADI DISASTER
A
PUBLIC MEETING
On the 19th ultimo a monster meeting consisting of the leading
Mohammadens and Hindus was held in the fort mosque to resolve to represent
their grievances to the India and Madras governments by wire, and to concert
measures to mitigate the calamity caused by the Palar floods. The mittadar
Maddaikar Zainul Abideen Sahib and Hajee Abdul Samad Sahib were elected
President and Vice President respectively. The following telegram was sent to
the governments of India and of madras and a copy of it to the collector of the
district with a prayer that he would support it:
“Heavy floods, on 12th, destroyed 1500 houses, killed 200
Vaniyambadians; considerable loss property, fields, gardens, topes destroyed.
Tanks Mysore, Bethamangalam, Ramasagaram, breached. Pray take steps to stop
repairing said tanks. petition follows"
As the committee formed has been for some days engaged in attending to the distribution of food and clothes, the work of preparing and submitting a detailed account of the distress and its caused has been delayed.
Published in: Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: Thursday, December 3, 1903
I wrote a detailed article in both Urdu
and English about this special meeting last year. Please click the link below
to read it.
Urdu: https://ehsans-blog.blogspot.com/2024/12/blog-post.html
English: https://ehsans-blog.blogspot.com/2024/12/a-historic-moment-of-solidarity-at-fort.html
MADRAS
NEWS
MADRAS, Nov. 28
At a monster meeting at Vaniyambadi the following telegram was sent to the Governments of India and Madras:- The heavy floods on the 12th destroyed 1,500 houses, killed 200 Vaniyambadis, considerable loss of property, fields, gardens and topes destroyed, Tanks at Mysore, Bethamangalam, and Ramasagaram breached. The meeting pray to take steps to start repairing of the sail tanks.
Published in: Englishman’s Overland Mail
Published on: Thursday, December 3, 1903
A
DEFENCE OF THE MYSORE GOVERNMENT
(From
a Correspondent)
With reference to the letter “The Vaniyambadi Disaster" from a
correspondent, published in your issue of the 23rd ultimo, I feel
constrained to remark that the excellent pathos that pervades almost the whole
letter is greatly marred by the uncharitable fixing of the whole blame to the
shoulders of the Mysore Government. “The Mysore Government” says he, “with a
motive to profit their State by storing up water year after year in the
reservoirs of immense size and capacity (Somambhudi Agrahar, Muduvadi, Holali,
Betamangala and Ramasagara tanks have all been mentioned) for the use of the
Kolar Gold Mines have constructed sluices to keep their waters in, instead of
letting out annually the surplus water through the Palar which forms, as it
were, a series of links to those dangerous tanks.” Nothing is more iniquitous
on the part of the writer than to make such a fanciful pronouncement. All these
tanks are being used for irrigation purposes, with the exception of Bethamangala
and Holali, which alone were reserved but recently with much reluctance for the
Gold Field water-supply project. The alleged construction of the sluices of
tanks “to keep their waters in” with a view to profit the State by using them
for the mines comes to us as a revelation. For they are coeval with the tanks
which were constructed long before the water-supply or the very mining industry
was ever thought of in the District.
Instead of indulging in stretches of imagination or pretending to
understand the inscrutable decrees of Providence, let us appeal to the facts
and figures and see if they will yield us any satisfactory explanation. It goes
without saying that the rainfall has been abnormally heavy in the whole
Province and heaviest in the Mysore Province and the Kolar District. Hence all
the tanks in the District were full to overflowing by the end of October; and
with November commenced that fatal rain which went on constantly and
persistently soaking the tank bunds and sealed our fate. Some of the minor and
other important tanks lying higher up the Kamasagara series breached at first
and discharged their contents into the Somambhudi Agraharam tank. The terrible
rush of the heavy floods was too much for the latter, which also gave way. The
sequel is too awful to describe. Thanks to the good work done in 1846 by the
Revenue Officials in the Marahamath Department, the big Palar bridge at
Thambihalli, on the Madras-Cannanore road, stood alone unshaken. The magnificent
series of tanks for which the late Major Kensington, R.E., was responsible, and
which have been unrivalled in the State either in respect of their strength or
the convenience of their situation, have now been destroyed and the State as
well as the people concerned have been put to ruinous loss.
The famous Ramasagara Tank, after which the series is called, was considered, as it might well be, quite indestructible, on account of its strong and substantial bund about 96 ft. high with stone revetment in front as well as in rear two large and capacious waste weirs and huge sluices, and its excellent earth work bund covered with a thick turf of grass. There was also a huge rock which was so conveniently situated in the tank that the waters of the Palar strike against it on their entrance, roll back and pass away quite innocuous over the northern weir, leaving the bund intact. But this time a vast volume was already running over the weir for three days before the disaster, with the result that when the deluge came on that dismal night nothing could arrest its progress. Thus passed away the majestic tank which used to give work to 16 villages and living to as many thousand souls. It is thus clear that there is no soundness in the claims for damages so vehemently urged on behalf of Vaniyambadi which has suffered so much in common with us. We do sympathise with her in her misfortune which is purely an act of Providence and which no human agency could prevent.
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: December 3, 1903
The Floods – Kolar, Nov. 13 – Disastrous floods are reported in the Kolar district. On Wednesday night the Hollalli tank on the Palar River was breached, the river having been swollen by the recent heavy rains poured into the Betamangalam water-supply tank, breaching the already overstrained bund in two places, the central gap being over 100 yards wide. The flood carried away the Betamangalam bridge, and swept down to Ramsagar, one of the largest of the chain of tanks on the Palar River. The bund was breached badly, and the whole volume of water poured on to Vaniyambadi. This tank was also breached, sweeping away half the town below. The people were warned in time, and no loss of life if reported, but great damage has been done to property. Two small villages below Hollalli were obliterated. There will be serious loss to Government in revenue, and the cost of the tank repairs will probably be several lacs. The damage to the Betamangalam tank alone is estimated at one lac. Serious delay is feared to the gold-fields water-supply, as the tank is now nearly empty. All communication by road and rail is cut off between Bangalore and the goldfields. The line on the Madras side is also breached.
Published in: Homeward Mail from India, China and the East
Published on: Monday, December 7, 1903
GREAT
FLOODS IN MADRAS
The Indian papers to hand by yesterday's mail contain further particulars
of the serious floods in Madras, a brief report of which was recently wired to
the India Office by the Viceroy. A message from Madras, dated Nov. 18, says:
“Owing to the unprecedented floods in the Palar on the 12th instant, there was 12ft of water in several villages, including the town of Vaniyambadi. About 1,210 houses, valued at Rs.1,73,500, collapsed, and about 125 lives were lost; some were washed away and some buried alive under the collapsed houses. At Govindapuram thirteen persons were buried under the debris of houses. District officers conducted the work of rescue and recovered the bodies, one child about three months old being found living by the side of its mother. Property worth several lakhs was washed away, comprising grain, cattle, &c. Number of inhabitants sought shelter in the few pucka houses in the town, otherwise the loss of life would have been far greater. The suffering and distress caused is naturally intense. A relief party was organised and a relief fund was started. About Rs.1,000 was raised and provisions were purchased and distributed free to the distressed in all the pettahs. Dead bodies and carcases are being removed from ruined houses. The scene is heartrending in the extreme. Thousands of persons are rendered homeless and many have become paupers.”
Published in: Daily Telegraph & Courier (London)
Published on: Tuesday, December 8, 1903
THE
VANIYAMBADI DISASTER
MYSORE
GOVT'S RESPONSIBILITY
A
REJOINDER
On the 2nd instant we published a letter which sought to
absolve the Mysore Government from the responsibility for the disaster at
Vaniyambadi by storing immense quantities of water in the Palar series of tanks
in the Mysore State. The disaster, the writer said, was quite unforeseen and
was an act of Providence.
Another correspondent, Mr. D. Wilson, Editor of the Dakshanadeepam,
Salem, returns to the charge. In the course of his letter he says:-
Without indulging in stretches of imagination or pretending to understand
the inscrutable decrees of Providence. I would like to appeal to facts and
figures, as desired by a correspondent who appears in your issue of the 2nd
instant, and see whether or not a charge of negligence can be laid at the door
of the Mysore Government in connection with the terrible flood in the Palar
River, and the consequent disaster at Vaniyambadi. Storing water in tanks is no
sin and the Mysore Government cannot be blamed for having stored up water in
large quantities in tanks which form a source of supply to the Palar River. But
it must be dispassionately considered whether, in storing water as the Mysore
Government did with whatever purpose is immaterial, sufficient care was taken
to see that the tanks so conserved did not run the risk of bursting and thereby
allow a huge and sudden flow into the Palar which feeds on them, and cause
destruction to the towns and villages that lie in its course.
In the Madras Mail of the 21st ultimo I read an
elaborate account of how the several tanks in the Palar series burst. I
gathered therefrom that “the average rainfall in the Malur, Bowringpet and
Mulleagal Taluqs had been already exceeded on the 1st November, but
rain continued to fall daily, till, on the 10th and 11th
idem, the climax was reached by a fall of 15 inches in about 36 hours between
Malur and Narasapur”. From the same account it is further learnt that the
Narsapur tank, which stands at the head of the Palar series, and two other
tanks above it, broke at 4 A.M. on the 11th (mark the time!). In
slow succession, Samambudi, Mudavadi and Holali tanks breached and the combined
waters reached Betamangalam, the second biggest tank in the series at 4 o'clock
in the afternoon the same day (mark the time again!). Betamangalam breached at
7 P.M. the same day and Ramsagar, the last and the biggest of the series, went
at midnight, sowing destruction in its course. I believe there were means of
rapid communication between these tanks; but even if there were none, in such
emergencies special means, such as despatching fast messengers, could have been
improvised and the tanks lower down warned. With a view to some urgent steps
being taken to lessen the strain on their bunds by the incoming flood, say, by
cutting down the weir level or opening the sluices. Even this would have been
unnecessary if, in view of the continual downpour for about a fortnight, care
had been taken to keep the water low in all the tanks, and the last two tanks
in particular. Since the account from which I borrow these facts remains
unchallenged up to date, it must be assumed that it is accurate, and that the
Mysore authorities failed to keep the water low in the tanks or at least to
lessen the bulk and force of the flood, even when two tanks had breached and
they had ample time (from 4 A.M. to 5 P.M.) to save Betamangalam and, of
course, Ramsagar.
There is yet one fact which adds to the responsibility of the Mysore
Government. About the end of September, Mr. R.F.L. Whitty, I.C.S., then
Divisional Officer at Tirupattur and Chairman of the Vaniyambadi Municipality,
asked the Mysore authorities, by means of an official letter to give him timely
intimation when there was any fear of tanks in the Palar series breaching. In
pursuance of this request, the Amildar of Kolar wired to him, on the 7th
November, saying that some tanks were in a dangerous condition. This message
was followed by a letter the next day, and accordingly Mr. Whitty warned the
inhabitants of Vaniyambadi by beat of tom-tom. There was no intimation given
until Betamangalam actually burst at 7 P.M. on the 11th. This
intimation, however, was too late and did not reach Vaniyambadi until the 13th
evening, as in the meanwhile the flood had done its work of destruction upon
the town and telegraph posts. Here, again, the Mysore officials were to blame.
If they had only warned Vaniyambadi by a telegram in the morning as soon as the
Narasapur tank broke, or at least when the flood was reaching Betamangalam, at
4 o'clock in the afternoon, Vaniyambadi would have had timely warning and no
loss of life would have occurred. Movable property also would have been saved.
These circumstances, in my humble opinion, demand that the Mysore Government
accept the responsibility and should compensate those who have been left
utterly destitute at Vaniyambadi and elsewhere.
THE
RELIEF FUND
We have
received the following letter from “A Sympathiser”:-
It is a matter of some surprise and no small disappointment to see the
little driblets of public subscriptions announced in your columns for the
assistance of people that suffered such heavy loss at Vaniyambadi. Such small
contributions can go but a little way to help the poor people to set up again.
I am inclined to think that the public are not aware of the resources of the
richer inhabitants of Vaniyambadi itself, who are quite capable of helping
their poor brethren if they only would. It is a well-known fact that a large
portion of both the import and export trade of this Presidency is in the hands
of Vaniyambadi traders, and a vast amount of wealth is, in consequence,
concentrated in their hands, such as is not the case anywhere else in Southern
India, except perhaps with the perhaps with the Nattukottais. It has also to be
remembered that at the recent floods it was mostly the poorer class that
suffered, the damage done to the richer being comparatively insignificant and
that too in very few cases, so that we can safely state that the rich were
immune while the poor suffered. Hence it becomes the duty of these richer
citizens, whom God has blessed so plentifully, to come to the help of their
poorer neighbours on an occasion like this, and one is glad to learn that some
among them are so willing to come forward to help; only they want a leader. If
such a leader comes up, or, in his absence, the Collector of the District would
use his well-known influence and persuasive ability, the disaster could be
remedied in no time by the Vaniyambadites themselves, of course with some
support from Government as well. I have drawn up a list of likely
subscriptions, which totals upto Rs.1,53,000. This, with some necessary help
from Government funds, should be ample to re-establish the town, by re-building
the fallen houses or building new ones on better sites. It is certainly a
matter of great amusement to those that know both the place and the men that
any outside subscription should have been applied for at all, while the
wealthier townsmen themselves can help the poor sufferers out of the difficulty
once for all. Further, the list I have prepared does not take note of those
able to pay lesser subscriptions than Rs. 1,000, and these will total to a
further Rs. 30,000. With Rs. 1,83,000 I can't help thinking that the whole town
can be almost rebuilt in no time, and all that is needed is only some one to
rouse the inhabitants to their sense of duty to their fellow- townsmen, for the
little driblets of public subscription that one sees in the papers are too
insignificant compared with the extent of the damage, Vaniyambadi does not need
outside help at all, having such a large number of very rich men in the town
itself.
If the subscriptions are realised and the town is to be rebuilt as suggested, Government might be requested to supplement the above funds and see their way to close up the Govindupuram River once for all, which at present it will be easy to do as the river bed is choked with sand by the recent floods. Steps should also be taken to deepen the Periapet River, the few houses left standing in Periapet and Chennampet being removed, so that Vaniyambadi will form one block and be made once for all free from all danger from future floods. Of course, Government aid will be necessary to make the above alterations, but if only the people of Vaniyambadi are willing to raise a large subscription it is but reasonable to expect that Government will be quite willing to supplement their funds for so worthy an object.
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: December 10, 1903
The latest reports from Southern India (says the Pioneer) do not
show that the first estimates of the damage done by the recent floods were
excessive, but rather the reverse. From Vaniyambadi alone it is reported that
nearly 200 lives were lost; the damage to property amounts to several lacs, and
1,000 acres of paddy fields have been ruined by sand deposits.
The Madras Government have sanctioned a reward of 2,000 Rs. to any person who will give information which will lead to the detection and conviction of persons concerned in the recent Government Special Test Examination frauds.
Published in: Homeward Mail from India, China and the East
Published on: Monday, December 14, 1903
THE VANIYAMBADI DISASTER
We have received the order of Government relating to
the sudden and terrible disaster that overtook the town of Vaniyambadi, in the
Salem District, on the 12th ultimo. We have published very full
details of the flood in the Palar River and its effects, and, on the whole, the
official account bears testimony to the accuracy of our correspondents. As a
matter of fact, so sudden and so overwhelming was the disaster that it would
have been difficult to have exaggerated any of its details. Convincing proof of
the suddenness of the catastrophe is the fact that Mr. F.J. Richards, the
Collector of Salem, received no warning of it until 12 hours after it had
occurred, and then it came through the Collector of North Arcot Mr. Richards
left Vaniyambadi immediately, and his first report gives a graphic account of
the appearance of the floods at its worst, Periapet, Chennampet and a portion
of Govindapuram, low-lying divisions of the town, being completely submerged
and destroyed.
In a supplementary report Mr. Richards gives details
of the loss sustained. As regards life, the estimates can only be approximate,
for obvious reasons, and in the town of Vaniyambadi the loss is put down at
200, though the actual ascertained loss is only 125. As, however, it is feared
that in some cases whole families have been washed away and no survivor left,
and as families have left for Tirupattur and other places without reporting
their losses, it is probable that the higher figure is the more correct. A
house to house inspection has shown that out of a total of 3,964 houses no less
than 1,210 are in ruins, while the damage done, according to the Municipal
registers, amounts to Rs. 1,73,200. The value of movable property damaged is
estimated at Rs. 41,500, but those figures are not considerable reliable. The
loss of cattle was enormous, not only in the town of Vaniyambadi itself but in
the villages and hamlets along the banks of the Palar, many of which have been
wiped out of existence. At first the people, overwhelmed by the sudden and
appalling disaster, were apathetic, and it was due to the presence of mind of a
few officials, policemen and others, that the loss of life was not much
greater. The stupor did no, however, last long, and even before the floods
subsided strenuous efforts were made to retrieve the situation as far as
possible. Relief Committees were formed and the rich and well-to-do quickly and
spontaneously came forward with food and clothes and other necessaries of life
for those who had suffered most severely by the floods. In addition to the
private losses the loss to Government and the Municipality is very heavy. A
number of irrigation channels have been utterly destroyed, while the other
agricultural losses are extensive, but are not detailed, as they do not come
within the scope of the present Report. The damage to house property in
Vaniyambadi itself represents a loss of revenue to the Municipality of Rs.
14,000 in house tax alone.
In a communication from our Salem correspondent which
we published yesterday it was stated that allotments had been made for a new
site for the ruined portions of the town, and the following is from the
Collector’s Report:-
“The population of Vaniyambadi has been dwindling of
late, first through the repeated epidemic plague, secondly through evacuation
consequent on the flood. It is question for consideration whether the people
should be allowed to return to and rebuild Periyapet and Chennampet, and the
low-lying parts of Govindapuram. It is possible that some of the people will be
reluctant to occupy a site of such evil memory, and I venture to suggest that
if any considerable part of the population shows an inclination to live
elsewhere, facilities be offered for occupying land in the neighbourhood of
Toraiyeri and Perumalpatti as village sites. The disaster is unprecedented and
due to no fault of the people of Vaniyambadi. The people have, on the whole,
faced their misfortunes pluckily and instead of whining for help have shown a
laudable determination to make the best of the circumstances, and though such a
course is without precedent, Government may be inclined to consider whether a
grant-in-aid of reconstruction could not reasonably be given from Provincial
funds.”
These proposals have been sanctioned by the Government, who consider that powerful inducements in the shape of free sites and materials should be offered the former residents of Periyapet, Chennampet and the low-lying portions of Govindapuram, in order to evacuate those localities and build their homes elsewhere. H.E. the Governor-in-Council has also noticed with pleasure the good work done by the local officials and the public spirit and generosity displayed by the leading citizens of the town, a special word of commendation being pronounced on the behaviour of three Police Constables whose presence of mind and foresight averted much loss of life among the women and children who had taken refuge in the Sub-Magistrate’s cutcherry.
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: December 17, 1903
THE
VANIYAMBADI DISASTER
VINDICATION
OF THE MYSORE GOVERNMENT
(From
a Correspondent)
In our issue of the 8th instant we published a letter from Mr.
D. Wilson, in which he stated that, in one way or another, the Mysore
Government were responsible for the disastrous consequences resulting in the
flood which inundated Vaniyambadi on the morning of the 12th ultimo.
We have now received a letter from a correspondent who is in the best position
to know what are the rights of the case, and in fairness to the Mysore
Government we publish it in full:-
A careful perusal of Mr. D. Wilson's letter shows how inconsequent his
arguments are. He writes:- “There is one fact which adds to the responsibility
of the Mysore Government, that about the end of September Mr. Whitley asked the
Mysore authorities to give a timely warning when there was any fear of any
tanks in the Palar series breaching.” One expected to read that this request
had been wholly disregarded, but your correspondent continues:- In pursuance of
this request, the Amildar of Kolar wired on the 7th November (four
days before the floods) and followed this wire by a letter the next day, saying
that some of the tanks of the series were in a dangerous condition.” So
important did Mr. Whitley consider this warning, that he actually caused it to
be published by beat of tom tom in Vaniyambadi. Your correspondent refrains
from stating what steps the people of Vaniyambadi took on receiving this most
timely warning Presumably, they utterly disregarded it, or there would have
been little or no loss of life and property.
The concluding sentences of the letter are so hopelessly involved that it
is difficult to understand how the writer wishes them to be read. He allows
that a wire was despatched at 7 P.M. of the 11th when the
Betamanglam reservoir actually burst, but he states that the Mysore Government
are to blame because this intimation did not reach its destination till the 13th,
owing to the destruction of the town of Vaniyambadi and the telegraph posts.
Surely, this is carrying special pleading a little too far. The Mysore
authorities gave the earliest intimation in their power, and owing to a
breakdown of the telegraph line their warning arrived too late. I am wholly at
a loss to understand how a wire despatched from Bowringpet or Kolar at 6 or 7
P.M. could have taken more than an hour or two to reach Vaniyambadi, say at 9
P.M., or six or seven hours before the flood reached the town, and destroyed it
and the telegraph wires.
A few facts may perhaps be of value, as against the many fancies which
your correspondent and others have lately propounded in your columns. The
Amildar of Kolar wired to the President of the Vaniyambadi Municipality on the
7th November that the Somambudi tank was in danger, and that the
other tanks of the series were full. This was followed up by a letter on the 8th
November confirming the above telegram, and warning the President that it was
continuing to rain heavily, and that he should be careful. On the 11th,
at about 5 P.M., the Amildar of Kolar again wired to the President, from Kolar,
that the Somambudi tank had breached, and that the other tanks of the Palar
series were in danger, On the same evening, at about 7 P.M., the Assistant
Engineer wired from Bowringpet, to the President, that the Palar was in full
flood, but that Ramasagara was said to be still safe, or words to that effect.
It must be remembered that the tanks of the series extend over an area of 40
miles in length, and at considerable and varying distances from Kolar town-the
Head Quarters of the District-that it had been pouring with rain for several
days, and that the roads in every direction were broken up, and communications
interrupted. Even the Executive Engineer at Kolar was unaware that the
Narasapur tank had breached till about midday of the 11th, or that
Somambudi and Muduvadi tanks had gone till 5 P.M. It was directly this
information was confirmed that the Kolar Amildar wired to the President of
Vaniyambadi Municipality. It was, in my opinion, exceedingly creditable that
the Amildar, in the midst of the stunning disasters of the day, should have
remembered Vaniyambadi, for even then no one anticipated for a moment that
those monuments of stability, the Betamangalam and Ramasagara tanks, would be
added to the tale of woe. It was not till the 12th morning dawned that
the officials of the District realised that the largest flood on record had
simply swept away and wrecked the whole Palar series, and that, to all intents
and purposes, a tidal wave 10 to 15 ft. in height had rolled down on tank after
tank in succession, literally overwhelming the weirs and bunds. No warning was
given; no precedent could be acted upon; the weirs were, even before the flood,
discharging heavily, and could not be cut down; and no one could anticipate
that a sudden torrential water spout of 15 inches of rain was to break on
Narasapur, the devoted top tank of the series.
Your correspondent must have very little idea of what a great flood in an
enormous tank means when he suggests opening the sluices. If every sluice of
every tank had been open to its greatest extent, it would have taken three
months to drain off the water of any of the tanks of this grand series. The
flood allowed only three hours' time!
The news that the top tanks of the series, viz., Narasapur and Somambudi,
had breached, was no doubt looked upon as a very serious matter by the Kolar
authorities on the 11th afternoon; but until Muduvadi followed, no
one realised that an unprecedented disaster was to be faced, or that there was
the slightest danger to the towns and villages lying in the Palar valley 50 or
70 miles below.
It appears inexplicable that the town of Vaniyambadi, situated, as it is
described to be, in the very bed of the River Palar, should have slept peacefully
and in utter disregard of all warnings on the night of the 11th; and
should not have made any preparation for even a moderate flood. Instead of
trying to shift the responsibility on to the shoulders of the Mysore
Government, it would be as well if the people of Vaniyambadi took themselves a
little more to task for their most culpable want of foresight and ordinary
prudence; and it would be as well if the Madras Government made searching
enquiry as to why no preparations were made to avert the disaster at
Vaniyambadi itself, and how it was the many warnings from Kolar were
disregarded.
I may mention incidentally that the larger tanks of the series are
probably more than 100 years old; that they were repaired thoroughly some 30
years ago; that the bunds and weirs of the Betamangalam and Ramasagara tanks,
are in exactly the same condition now as formerly, and that they have not been
raised one inch for the water-supply scheme of the Gold Field; and that all the
major tanks of the series were in most excellent condition, and in thorough
repair before the flood.
Another correspondent sends us a long letter in defence of the Mysore Government, but as it covers practically the same ground as the above, and confirms what is therein stated, we refrain from publishing it. These letters leave no room for doubt that the Mysore Government were in no way responsible for the lamentable disaster at Vaniyambadi. Having now given both sides of the case, we must close the correspondence on this subject.
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: December 17, 1903
VANIYAMBADI
NOTES
THE RECENT FLOODS
(From a Correspondent)
Vaniyambadi, 27th Dec. From the Collector’s
letter to Government, regarding the recent Palar floods, already published in
the newspapers, your readers will have known that the island of Periapet and
Chennampet suffered the worst with loss of many lives, valuable house property,
etc., The Head Assistant Collector has already selected a fresh site for a new
town, and arrangements are going on for its acquisition. The Assistant
Collector, Mr. Whitty, has been specially deputed with a surveyor to assign
lands for house sites and distribute timber and other materials to the
deserving poor to build houses. The site was selected in consultation with the
town’s people, and it is understood that about 1,200 applications have already
been registered in the Municipal Office for house-sites. At this stage of the
affairs some rich Mahomedans of Periapet and Chennampet, whose houses are pucka
and still standing, without any damage, have come forward with collected
subscriptions to protest against the formation of a new town in the selected
place, and to request Government to permit the people to rebuild houses on the
old site. They have engaged a High Court Vakil for the purpose. A telegram was
sent to the Collector yesterday. I visited this place with the Pleader and
find, at any rate, there can be no objection to permit people of Periapet to rebuild
houses, as it is on a pretty high level. I understand that the Municipality is
refusing to grant licenses, but I doubt if it is legally justified in doing so.
In furnishing figures to Government regarding the
number of houses ruined, the number of lives lost and the amount of damage
sustained, the Acting Collector, Mr. F.J. Richards, said that in some respects
the figures were not quite reliable. I understand that at the Public Meeting
held in the Municipal Office last month with Mr. A.F.G. Moscardi in the chair,
some leading men informed the Chairman that the number of houses ruined by the
floods, viz., 1,210 as ascertained by the Municipal Staff, was not correct. As
Chairman of the Municipal Council, Mr. A.F.G. Moscardi took upon himself the
verification of the list of the ruined and damaged houses, and after making a
house to house inspection of the whole town with the Municipal Manager, Mr.
Subroya Aiyer, for seven days, prepared a correct list, I understand, with the
following result:
Number of unassessed huts destroyed – 104
Number of assessed houses totally destroyed – 1,029
Number of houses partly damaged – 304
Sale value – Rs. 2,44,000.
No further information regarding the loss of lives
seems to have been gathered and I do not know why. Poor person who have lost
houses are now living on pig’s sheds and garden and their condition is very
miserable.
The Head Assistant Collector and Municipal Chairman
has already received Rs. 1,300 through the Madras Mail, which has been kind
enough to undertake the task of raising funds for the help of the distressed
poor of Vaniyambadi. The public of Vaniyambadi most heartily thank the
subscribers for their generous gifts. Mahomedan gentlemen have already
distributed about Rs. 12,000 to the poor of their own class, but no Hindu. I am
told, has yet been given any help. The people expect that a major portion of
the amount received through the Madras Mail will be distributed to the homeless
Hindus. Some of the Hindu gentlemen are making a special appeal for help for
Hindus and Panchamas.
LOCAL WANTS
The Sub-Divisional officer, P.W., has come here to inspect the Kaderpet river and to prepare an estimate and a design for bridging the same. The people of Amburpet and Fort have at present no means of escape to the mainland in times of danger by floods. A bridge is indeed very necessary. This large town has no choultry, public or private, to accommodate strangers visiting the town, nor has it got a travellers’ bungalow to accommodate European officers visiting the town on duty. This needs the attention of the Municipality.
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: December 31, 1903
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
THE VANIYAMBADI FLOODS
Sir, I should be much obliged if you or any of your
readers would kindly give me the following information. It had been promised by
the Government to grant building materials and house-sites to the deserving
poor to build their houses. It was also reported in your issue of the 30th
December, 1903, by one of your correspondents in Vaniyambadi that the Assistant
Collector, Mr. Whity, had been specially deputed for the purpose and that about
1,200 applications had been registered in the Municipal office for house-sites.
I want to know whether the work has begun practically. How many sufferers have
been provided with the necessary materials and how many houses have been
constructed on the fresh site? It is also rumoured here that, as some rich
Mahomedans of the town protested against the formation of a new town on the
selected site, the Government have left the matter at a standstill. Is this
true?
K. ABDUL RASHEED
Godown Street, 23rd Feb
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: February 25, 1904
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
VANIYAMBADI
Sir, In reply to Mr. Abdul Rasheed's query in the Madras Mail, it is quite true that some rich Mahomedans of Vaniyambadi are working against the formation of a new town in the safe place selected by Government. Those who have already lost their houses have no mind at all to rebuild the houses on the old sites, for they know for certain that the houses will again be flooded away. The Collector first selected a site, and the Order of Government for its acquisition was also received; but on further representation that the site is not best suited for the purpose, for some reasons which were not taken to the Collector's notice at the beginning, he was pleased to visit Vaniyambadi again and select another site which all the people best liked. The Government Order for its acquisition is being solicited, and the people expect that Mr. R.F.L. Whitty, the special officer, will soon assign lands to the poor. The District Collector has been very kind to offer all kinds of encouragement to the poor people, and it is much to be regretted that some rich persons send up petitions after petitions printed, and spoil the whole thing. They fear that if their neighbours go away they will be left alone; they have got houses which are too costly to be abandoned.
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: March 10, 1904
THE
FLOODS IN SOUTH INDIA
RAIL
COMMUNICATION INTERRUPTED
MADRAS
ISOLATED
Heavy rain continued over South India during the greater part of the
week, breaching every one of the Railways communicating with the City and
practically isolating it. On the North-East Line, which communicates with
Calcutta, about 63 miles between Tungaturu and Ongole, on the Madras Bezwada
Section, were damaged by series of large breaches and a number of minor
damages. Direct communication with Calcutta and places north of Ongole has been
cut off for some time and Mails and passengers have had to go round via
Guntakal and Bezwada, entailing a couple of days delay. His Excellency the
Governor had arranged a tour on the East Coast, and it was feared that he would
be unable to travel on this line by the 25th instant. Latest
information, however, shows that the line is being quickly repaired, and,
unless another storm breaks, it will be possible to run the Governor's special
train through limiting its speed, however, between Bitragunta and Ongole to
about 15 miles an hour. Mails and passengers thereafter will be run through as
usual, but at reduced speed, until the line is in good order again.
THE
NORTH-WEST LINE
The breach on this section was quickest repaired and through booking was
resumed on the 12th instant, so that the inconvenience caused was
only temporary. Some anxiety was caused on this section, however, by the high
floods in the Cheyur river in the Cuddapah District. The training banks which
kept the river from flooding a large extent of low lying country were said to
be in danger of breaching, and had this happened the damage caused would have
been disastrous. Fortunately the floods subsided and the strain on the training
banks was reduced.
THE
SOUTH-WESE LINE
Very heavy rain on the Mysore Plateau caused disastrous floods all along
the S. W. Line, Line, and all railway communication beyond Gudiyatam was
stopped for some days. The first to breach was the Bangalore Section between
Malur and Whitefield cutting off all communication with Bangalore and the Kolar
Gold Fields, and after a couple of days without Mails from these places, they
were sent round via Guntakal and the North-East Line to Madras. The next day
came news that the heavy floods in the Palar River had caused extensive damages
on the Main Section of the S. W. Line interrupting Mail communication with
Calicut and Ootacamund, and places far than Gudiyatam. Mailpatti Station was
practically under water and the town of Vaniyambadi was flooded and a large tannery
belonging to a wealthy Mahomedan tanner was ruined and much life and property
lost.
Latest information states that it is only just possible to get Mails and
passengers over the breach at this point by transhipping, which will have to be
continued for another 10 days. Mails from Bangalore, Ootacamund, and Calicut
which are usually delivered in Madras early in the morning are now be delivered
in the afternoon.
THE
SOUTH INDIAN RAILWAY
This Railway was breached in three places; on the main line between
Villupuram and Panruti, interrupting Mail communication with Ceylon and the
South of India; on the Arakkonam Branch near Wallajahbad; and on the
Villupuram-Gudur Branch between Vellore and Katpadi. Of these naturally the
most important was that on the main line; but it was quickly repaired and the
inconvenience caused by the non-arrival of Mails and passengers did not last
more than a couple of days, after which through communication was resorted.
Transhipping has still to be resorted to in the case of the breach between
Vellore and Katpadi.
THE
HEAVY RAINS AT KOLAR
THE
GOLD FIELD WATER SUPPLY DAMAGED
(From
a Correspondent)
KOLAR GOLD FIELD, 12th Nov – The rain at Kolar has been
exceptionally heavy and is quite unprecedented in the annals of the Gold Field.
At our station 47 inches have been already gauged this year whereas the usual
annual rainfall varies from 25 to 28 inches. This has caused a large increase
in the underground water, and several mines are flooded in their bottom levels
and in others it is all that the pumps can do to compete with the coming water.
News has reached the Gold Field this morning that during the night the
big tank at Bettamangalam has been breached and that all the water had escaped.
This tank when full covers some 4 to 5 square miles and is the reservoir from
which the Mysore Government propose to supply the Gold Field with water. The
scheme is to provide about a million and a half gallons daily of filtered water
for mining and domestic purposes and the machinery and plant situated at
Bettamangalam are well on their way towards completion and in the ordinary
course pumping was expected to commence in the early part of next year. How
this disaster will affect the water scheme has not at present transpired, but
it will take a large rainfall to fill up the tank again after the breaches have
been repaired and heavy rain is not usually experienced here after the middle
of November.
The Bettamangalam is the lowest but one of what is known as the Palar
River series of tanks and the catastrophe has been caused by the breaking of
the bund of one of the higher tanks. The Mudivadi tank some six miles from
Kolar town has been in a critical condition for some days and the Mysore P.W.D.
have done everything possible to try and prevent a breach, but they must have
failed in this. This tank, containing some three square miles of water, having
broken the bund, would rush down the new bed carrying everything before it, and
coming into the Holali tank, covering about two square miles, would carry this
with it and sweep down on Bettamangalam and carry this away. The huge volume of
water must then have swept down on the Ramsagra tank the last and largest of
the series.
The Bettamangalam Sailing Club has a boathouse and boats on the shore of
the tank but no damage has been done here beyond flooding the floor of the boat
house. The yawl Lotus which many of your Madras readers will remember as
the sloop Dabchick from which she has been altered was moored out in the
tank, but her moorings held and she is now left lying on the muddy bottom of
the tank.
THE
FLOODS IN CUDDAPAH DISTRICT
THE
SITUATION AT MADANAPALLE
(From
a Correspondent)
MADANAPALLE, 13th Nov – The continued and incessant rains of the past
nine days in the southern part of the Cuddapah District, have been
unprecedented. The storm has been a record one for the Sub-Collector's
Division, and it is impossible to compute the widespread damage that has been
done. The storm began in earnest on Wednesday the 4th, when the rain
fell in torrents all day long, and throughout the night. It continued almost
without interruption on Thursday and Friday. On Friday night it cleared,
however, and the moon showed brightly; Saturday morning was clear and the sun
deigned to shine all the morning. But towards evening it began to rain hard
again, and with only a few hours intermission continued till 4 o'clock
yesterday afternoon.
Madanapalle has the appearance of a different town. Its picturesque
beauties are enhanced and made perfect by two broad rapidly-flowing rivers,
which effectually divide the town into three portions. These two rivers, which
have been dry beds of sand for years, are now rushing torrents and only the
strongest men can cross them. Yesterday afternoon these streams were in very
heavy flood, owing to the overflow of a succession of tanks draining into them.
The town proper is an island, and for several days this week it has been
necessary to close the Cutcherry and the High School on the further side of the
town, as it was dangerous for the officials and clerks to cross the river near
the Hospital. This river is narrow and the current is very swift. The water ranges
from three to six feet in depth, and it is with the greatest difficulty that it
can be crossed.
On Wednesday the Mail jutka got across by the aid of a number of men.
Another jutka followed, but the pony could not face the current, lost its
footing and was carried quite a distance down stream. For several yards the
pony was not visible, and the jutka floated on the stream. The men who were
assisting, finally succeeded in getting to the bank, where others rendered
assistance and the pony and jutka were pulled ashore. It was some time before
the exhausted animal was able to get up again.
It is a common sight to see buffaloes and cattle washed down stream for
long distances before they can gain the shore, and several have been drowned.
The river by the Hospital cuts off the main town from the Cutcherry, High
School, D.P.W. Office, and two groups of dwelling houses, while the broader
river near the Post Office and the Coronation Market, cuts it off from the
Sub-Collector's house and Office, the Munsiff's Court, four European
residences, and a large part of the residential quarter of Madanapalle.
On Thursday afternoon it was reported that a large tank above the town
was too full for safety, and that it had been necessary to cut the bank to let
out a part of the water. At all events, the water in the river by the Post
Office increased greatly in volume and three persons, not gauging the force of
the stream, were washed off their feet and were carried down stream some
distance, often being completely under water, before they were rescued by the
excited crowd. Latter in the afternoon another young man was washed down stream
and was pulled out with some difficulty.
Every tank is full to overflowing, and persons have been on guard
throughout the week ready to cut the bank near the outlet in case the bund
showed any danger of bursting in any weak spot. There are tanks above the town
which, if breached, would do untold damage and inundate the compounds of many
of the residents. Even the best Bungalows leak as the tiles, or terraced roofs
are thoroughly soaked through. The Bungalow occupied by the family of the
Collector of the District, is almost uninhabitable. Fortunately, Mrs. Macleod
has not yet returned from England, and there is time before the end of the
month, when she is expected to put it in order again. The houses and mud walls
of the native inhabitants have suffered much. The appearance of the town is
pitiable, and it will take months for the people to rebuild their houses and
the surrounding walls. A new and excellent well on the Sub-Collector's compound
has caved in, and is entirely ruined, as well as one in the American Mission
compound.
It is with the greatest difficulty that the Mail service has been
maintained. Madanapalle has been almost cut off entirely from the Railway
Station. Had it not been for the excellent improvements made by Mr. F.A.
Coleridge, the Sub-Collector, on the Chinna Tippa Samudram and Kurabalakota
roads during the year past, by having numerous bridges and culverts erected
over the many larger and smaller channels or river beds, it would have been
impossible to reach the Station during the past week. Yesterday the Mails could
not be despatched. A gallant effort was made to push the Mail jutka across the
Hospital river, but it was found to be an impossibility and no one was able to
send letters, nor could anybody reach the Station for the train to Madras.
The two rivers that are now running in full flood through the town unite
about half a mile below, and the combined stream flows across the Chinna Tippa
Samudram road. This has been impassable for a week and the Mails have to leave
an hour earlier, go past the Hospital on the Kurabalakota road, then take a
cross cut to the C.I.M. road, which is joined at the tollgate. The large river
that now makes the Chinna Tippa Samudram road impassable ought to be bridged
and plans have already been devised to have this done, as soon as possible. It
is also proposed by the Sub-Collector to erect narrow foot-bridges across the
two rivers that run through the town, so that there may never again be a
repetition of the embarrassing state of affairs that exists at present. It is
with great difficulty that the servants of the European residents get to the
town to buy the necessary supplies. Wood has increased threefold in price, and
hundreds of people have to content themselves with very simple meals. The cooly
population have not been able to get any work for a week and are suffering in
consequence.
This taluq has received from 18 to 20 inches of rain in the past eight
days. Every large tank is full to overflowing, and hundreds of acres of rice
fields have been washed out, and largely ruined by the rushing waters. Tanks,
that have not been full for 15 years now present the appearance of large and
beautiful lakes. But many villages are in imminent danger and the tanks are
being watched with the greatest care. The very large Chinna Tippa Samudram tank
has been overflowing for the past three days and the villagers in its vicinity
will feel anxious as long as the rains continue.
THE
VAYALPAD TALUQ
I believe this taluq had heavier rain than the Madanapalle Taluq. Twenty
inches were registered in Vayalpad up to Thursday morning, and the houses of
the town are in a most dangerous condition. Every school has been closed and
the cessation of the storm has been anxiously awaited. The South Indian Railway
was breached near Kaligiri-the station next to Vayalpad, but the breach was
promptly repaired and trains are now allowed to be run along that section at
the rate of but four miles an hour and during the day only. Hence the Mails to
and from Madras have been delayed six hours each way for the past three days,
and the post has arrived in Madanapalle at 12:30 P.M. instead of 6:30 A.M. as
it should. The Vayalpad Hospital building suddenly collapsed on Monday las.
Fortunately no one was hurt, but much damage was done, and many medicines ruin.
The Tahsildar, the compounder, a D.P.W. clerk and some others have been obliged
to take refuge in the Government Cutchery building as their houses have become
dangerous. Walls and houses have fallen in great numbers. Over 17 inches of rain
fell in Piler and the rocky-bedded Piler river is a boiling, seething mass of
rushing water. Every river in the taluq is in full flood and many travellers
are weather bound and are unable to reach their homes. Reports of damage done
and of fields and crops under water are numerous, and the break in the storm to-day
is a source of great rejoicing to all.
THE
RAYACHOTI TALUQ DELUGED
The greatest deluge in this Division was in the Rayachoti Taluq. Nine
inches fell in a single day, and 5 inches the next. Since the 8th instant,
Rayachoti has been entirely cut off from the outside world. Every bridge on the
roads has been entirely swept away. The large bridge between Rayachoti and the
ghat is a total wreck, and the damage that has been done is almost beyond
computation. It is estimated that not less than 25 inches have fallen in eight
days, and this in a hilly, mountainous District means tremendous floods and
incalculable loss.
Government have been asked for special additional funds to repair, in a
measure, the great damages, and it is hoped they will be promptly granted.
THE
KADIRI TALUQ
The Kadiri
Taluq has received from 13 to 15 inches and the tanks are well filled. Thus
this usually needy taluq is rejoicing in abundance of water.
THE
MADRAS RAILWAY
18th Nov – On the South-West Line communication with Bangalore,
Ootacamund and Calicut has been resumed by means of transhipment, and Mails
from these places instead of arriving in Madras in the morning, now arrive in
the afternoon. Through running on this section will not be resumed for 21 days.
On the North-East Line a ballast train passed over the breach at mile 134.5
and has reached Tettu. It will take another two days to complete communication
at mile 152. A ballast train, however, has passed over the breach at mile 158.
On the Bitragunta-Ongole section, ballast trains are working from both sides
and will meet at the big breach at Sirurreddipalliam between Tungateru and
Ongole. Trains should run through between Bitragunta and Ongole by Saturday.
THE
SOUTH INDIAN RAILWAY
Latest information from the Traffic Manager of the South Indian Railway
states that through communication has been restored on all three sections of
this Railway that had been breached.
THE
DISTRESS IN CUDDAPAH
(From
a Correspondent)
Rajah Sir Savalai Ramasawmy Moodelliar's gift of 1,000 cloths to the
sufferers from the recent floods was distributed yesterday to the destitute,
under the personal care and supervision of Mr. B. Macleod, the Collector of the
District. Mr. M. Soobba Row, Pleader of Gooty, had remitted a sum of Rs. 10 for
distribution among the poor.
THE
MONSOON ON THE EAST COAST
FAIR
WEATHER SET IN
The sky is beautifully clear today, our Bimlipatam correspondent wrote on the 18th instant, and the sea very calm. Apparently the rainy season has practically ceased at the normal time on this side of India. The rainfall this year exceeds the average and a bumper crop of paddy is anticipated. Tobacco, cholum, horse gram and other pulses are progressing favourably. There is an ample supply of water in the wells and tanks for irrigating the crops during the coming spring. There has been a general reduction of 56 per cent in the prices of food grains since the beginning of this year.
Published in: The Madras Weekly Mail
Published on: Thursday, November 19, 1903
THE
FLOODS IN SOUTHERN INDIA
THE
MADRAS RAILWAY
THE
NORTH-EAST LINE
Great progress has been made during the week with the breaches on the
Madras Railway. The very extensive breaches on the North-East Line
communicating with Calcutta were repaired by Saturday, the 21st instant,
and the Mail from Calcutta and places north of Bitragunta were delivered up to
time on Saturday evening without having to be diverted via Bezwada and Guntakal.
His Excellency the Governor left for his tour in Nellore and the East Coast
Districts on Wednesday, the 25th instant, along this section of the
Railway, and the only inconvenience that he will suffer will be that the
special train will have to travel at reduced speed.
THE
SOUTH-WEST LINE
THE
BANGALORE AND MAILPATTI BREACHES
The breach on the Bangalore Branch was restored on Friday sufficiently to
allow trains to be passed over with care. But on Saturday a very serious
derailment took place on this line just outside Bangalore station. An engine,
tender and five vehicles were badly derailed. No loss of life took place; but
the engine has been badly damaged. At Mailpatti great progress has been made
with the work of restoration. The floods have subsided and it has been possible
to use the sand deposited on the paddy fields instead of having to train it to
the spot. This has expedited work considerably, and it was expected to be able
to run passenger trains through by Wednesday, the 25th instant. The
following will give an idea of the situation at Mailpatti:-
A few particulars of the large breach on the South-West Line of the
Madras Railway at Mailpatti may be of interest to the public. The breach was
due to the unprecedented amount of water that rushed down the Palar River,
during the storm of one early part of last week. This
enormous amount of water in the river was due to the bursting of a series of
large tanks in the Kolar District, accounts of which have already appeared in
the Madras Mail.
The large Railway bridge at Mailpatti across the Palar, with its many
piers, served as a partial dam for the volumes of water, especially as much debris
caught on the piers and helped dam up the waters.
The debris can yet be seen caught on the sharp pointed piers, and it
gives evidence of the fact that the water piled up as high as the iron girders
of the bridge. The water being so high, the river overflowed its banks very
greatly, and a vast volume of water rushed over the east bank, along the
railroad embankment, up to the Mailpatti Station, and dashed in torrents
through the two small bridges near the west end of the station. These two
bridges were entirely washed away, as well as the west end of the station
platform. The pipes leading from the tank-house to the upright iron stands,
from which the engine takes water, are twisted and much bent out of shape. One
of the stands was thrown down and broken, and another, together with its solid
masonry foundation, was turned round and washed some distance from its place.
Not having sufficient exit for itself the irresistible waters rushed eastward
past the station and along the northern side of the railroad embankment. As the
waters increased, they flowed over the embank- anent southward and washed away
the rails with the iron sleepers attached, and they now lie on the bushes or in
the ditch below, all twisted and bent, and presenting the appearance of a
switchback railroad, half a mile in length. In some places the rails are piled
high, in shapeless forms, and in others are lower, thus giving the switch- back
appearance. The force of the water must have been tremendous and the loss to
the Company is very great. Between two and three thousand coolies are at work on
the repairs, which will probably be completed in 10 days.
The arrangements for transhipping are excellent, and passengers now have
to walk scarcely a quarter of a mile. At first the distance was nearly a mile.
SOME
STRIKING PHOTOGRAPHS
Messrs. Nicholas and Co. have sent us ten excellent photographs of the
breaches on the Madras Railway at Mailpatty, near Jolarpet, caused by the
recent floods in the Palar River. The Station premises had a narrow escape from
total destruction, as part of the platform near the bridge over the river was
washed away, and the floods were rapidly advancing on the building when they
subsided. The general view of the damage caused to the permanent way and the
bridges is an interesting one, and shows with what terrific force the water
must have hurtled over the line. The earthwork was rapidly washed away, and
then the rails were swept from one side to the other and contorted in the
strangest way, while the pumping apparatus, with its brick base and heavy iron
column, was transported bodily about 20 ft. from its original position. Another
photograph shows many yards of rails turned upside down and deposited a long
way from the rest of the line, while a third presents the strange spectacle of
the line and sleepers standing up on end, with wreckage all about their base.
Another view of the bridge over the Palar shows the buttresses heaped to the
top with broken branches, whole trees and other debris carried down by the
river. The series of photographs is a very good one, and forms an interesting
memento of a somewhat melancholy event.
THE
FLOODS IN THE KOLAR DISTRICT
THE
PALAR RIVER
(From
a Correspondent)
Now that the sun is shining on all the terrible destruction of the past
few days, it is difficult for any one, who has not met with a similar
experience, to realise the general consternation that lately prevailed in this
District. The Palar series of tanks is one serial tale of disaster: bund after
bund has fallen, and the flood has swept everything before it in a devastating
course down the Palar River valley. We have been cut off both from Bangalore
and Madras, and have been able so far only to guess at the damage that must
have occurred in North Arcot, judging from the extent of the floods as
experienced by us here, where they originated.
The average rainfall of the Malur, Bowringpet and Mulbagal Taluqs had
been already exceeded on the 1st November, but rain continued to
fall daily till on the 10th and 11th November. The climax
was reached by a fall of 15 inches in about 36 hours, between Malur, on the
Madras Railway, and Nursapore, a village about 10 miles north of the Railway
line. This was the immediate cause of all subsequent disaster, for about 4 A.M.
on the 11th Nursapore tank and two smaller ones above it breached,
and the water swept down and burst the bands of two other small tanks lower
down the valley. As the Nursapore tank stood at the head of the Palar series
the remaining tanks were watched with great anxiety, though the case as the day
wore on and rain fell without ceasing seemed hopeless. Before the morning of
the 12th dawned every foreboding was terribly realised.
From Nursapore the flood passed to the Somambudi tank, broke the weir and
even then rose to the highest limit of the bund, and wrecked it. Muduvadi tank
bund, which is about one mile long, and about which there had been some anxiety
from the first, was powerless to withstand the force of the combined currents,
and gave in 9 or 10 places. Both weirs are lying scattered hither and thither
in the jungle or in the fields, and the bridge over which the Srinivaspur road
passed has literally crumbled to atoms.
By this time the river, ordinarily a narrow ribbon of water 30 to 40 ft.
wide, was a roaring torrent half a mile in breadth, and swept down on to the
old Madras-Bangalore road at Tambarhalli.
Streaming across the road, and over and through the bridge, an old-fashioned
one of brick and chunam, the waters raced through the buildings of a Mutt
situated a couple of hundred yards from the river bank. A part of the Mutt
served as a Police Station, but it was a case of sauve qui peut for the
Constables, their arms and records; and the Police Station is now a collection
of stone pillars and a roof, all intervening spaces having disappeared. The
Swami is on “circuit”, which is perhaps as well for him. Now that the floods
have somewhat abated it is interesting to note how, though the road on either
side of the bridge is torn up and swept away, the bridge itself, a solid dumpy
structure, though bared to its very foundations, still stands intact - a
tribute to thorough good work as far back as 1846.
From Tumbarhalli the floods descended on the Holali tank, the higher of
the two reservoirs for the Kolar Gold Field's water supply. Here, when
resistance was no longer possible the bund gave way, and by 4 o'clock on the
afternoon of the 11th the flood reached Betamangalam. This tank has
an area of two to three square miles, and the Mysore Government have been
engaged for some months past in laying out what is practically a small
Engineering town to the west of it. A large engine house and filtering beds are
now under construction, while a Circuit House for D.P.W. Officers in connection
with the scheme has been built and now stands in a fine situation overlooking
the tank. A well-planned and tidy street of quarters for Assistant Engineers,
drivers and subordinates has sprung into existence in a marvellously short
space of time; a water-tower rose by the south weir, a neat foot-bridge
connecting it with the shore; and the whole place indicated busy and untiring
effort towards the rapid completion of the water-works scheme, which the
Engineers in charge hoped to have in working order on the Gold Field by April
next. This is now an impossibility, and what was a beautiful stretch of water
is a mere muddy puddle, with a stream rushing through the breaches. The fine
old bund, restored 30 years ago by Major Kensington, an Engineer whose
handiwork is to be encountered far and wide throughout the District, is gashed
and ripped open in three or four places, and the Engineer in charge can only
watch the water escaping, powerless to effect any remedy until the tank is
drained and they can begin to repair the bund.
It seems that about 4 P.M. on the 11th afternoon the water
suddenly began to rise. In a very short time it was rushing over the weirs in a
current 4ft. deep, and so strong that there was no possibility of getting
across from the further side to do anything to relieve the strain on the strain
on the bund, and those in charge could only pray that the flood might abate
before the bund was breached. Events had occurred in too quick succession to
allow of any intimation of what had happened to the tanks above. It is only
now, when communications have to a certain extent been restored, that any idea
of the proper sequence of affairs can be gathered. By 6 P.M. the flood had
risen 12 or 13ft. above weir-level, and at the south weir the natural formation
of the ground, a mass of rocky boulders which no force could move, hurled the
water back like a huge wave. The engine house was filled with water to a depth
of 3 or 4 ft.; the Betamangalam Sailing Club boat-house was almost totally
submerged, with the boats straining wildly at their ropes. By this time the
water had overtopped the bund, and the latter, having stood splendidly against
a frontal attack, succumbed to a cowardly assault in the rear, where the flood
scoured and weakened it. After darkness fell it was impossible to see what was
happening; there was only the sound of rushing water, and the steady beat of
driving rain; but about 7 P.M. a deep hollow rumbling gave warning that the
bund had gone.
In the morning what remained of the water was fringed with a hideous
wilderness of liquid mud, the boats were thrown here and there on their sides,
the footbridge to the water-tower was crumpled up and thrown aside like a scrap
of paper, and huge stone slabs were left as salvage high and dry above flood
level near the engine house. The road immediately below the tank, leading from
Bowringpet to Venkatagirikota on the North Arcot frontier, was quite
impassable; the bridge over the river had disappeared and is since reported to
have been wrecked-and the river itself was lost in a swirling miniature sea.
The last and largest of this magnificent series of tanks-Ramsagar-a
glorious sheet of water nearly 5 square miles in area, breached at midnight on
the 11th. The water was then about 2 ft. below the top level of the
bund. The flood inundated the village of Ramsagar situated a quarter of a mile
from the eastern weir, and sent the villagers flying for shelter elsewhere. The
greater portion of the cultivated land below the tank was one vast stretch of
water, and the standing crops together with cocoanut, arecanut and sugar-cane
gardens were for the most part swept away. There are three breaches in the
bund, one unimportant, another 200 yards wide, and a third wider still. The
tank is drained except for the river flowing through the bed.
It has been difficult to gather information, for the roads in every
direction have been breached and closed to ordinary traffic. Besides the six
large tanks of the Palar series at least 10 smaller ones have joined in the
general destruction. The only redeeming feature of the case is that there was
no loss of life; otherwise the tale of woe and disaster could not be much
worse. It is impossible at present to estimate the damage done, but it seems
likely that it may cost Government at least Rs. 5 or 6 lakhs to repair the
havoc wrought by the flood; and when one considers also the revenue which will
be lost while the tanks are being repaired, and the compensation to be paid for
losses incurred, the debit account is not likely to be a small one.
These are by no means the only tanks that have breached in the District,
however, for the rainfall since August has been abnormal, and the total now
reached exceeds the highest on record since 1868.
THE
CUDDAPAH FLOODS
DESTRUCTION
OF IRRIGATION TANKS
(From
a Correspondent)
CUDDAPAH 18th Nov. – In the Cuddapah Notes published in your columns a
few days ago an account was given of the damage done to the town by the recent
floods. As the flood is subsiding news is coming in from every quarter as to
the extent of local damage. I understand that as many as 164 tanks in charge of
the Revenue authorities have breached and are quite dry at a time of the year
when they are expected to hold water for the wet crops yet to mature. The task
of repairing these tanks before the next rains set in is a stupendous one and
quite beyond the power of the Collector with bis limited staff of Minor
Irrigation Overseers. Yet it is imperative that these tanks should be properly
restored before the rains set in next year, and the only way this can be done
is to entrust the work to the Tank Restoration Party, which has not much work
to carry out and is pre-eminently fitted for the task. It is hoped that
Government will lose no time in passing orders to this effect.
DISTRIBUTION
OF RELIEF
For the past week and more we have been having fine weather, which is
welcome after the continuous rain. The temperature has fallen considerably and
in consequence has given rise to fever in the town, especially amongst those
who have lost their houses and are exposed to the chill night air. The
wealthier people have already set to work to repair their houses, the poorer
are waiting to lay by funds. Rajah Sir Savalai Ramsawmy Moodelliar came forward
with his usual generosity and was very prompt in sending cloths and Rs. 1,000
for distribution amongst the poor. A Committee consisting of the Headquarters
Deputy Collector, Municipal Chairman and others was formed for the purpose of
making out a list of those in special need of this relief. Yesterday morning, the
Collector, Mr. Bannatyne Macleod, distributed the cloths, and this afternoon he
gave away Rs. 975 to 195 persons who had lost their houses out of the money
sent by the Rajah. The money sanctioned by Government and the balance of the
Rajah's amount was set apart for the Sub-Collector for distribution in his
division. Unfortunately the amount given away was hardly sufficient to enable
the recipients to prop up their fallen houses, nor did the total amount
available admit of giving relief to all those in need of it. But the clamouring
crowd of people who had lost their houses were informed that the Hon'ble Mr.
Ratnasabhapati Pillay, who had so kindly taken upon himself the task of
interpellating Government in the interests of the poor of Cuddapah, was being addressed
to come forward with his charity on an occasion when munificence cannot be too
liberal. The crowd dispersed soon after the departure of the Collector, some
joyous, some disappointed, but all were unanimous in shouting blessings on
Rajah Sir Savalai for the gift he had made, and on the Hon'ble Mr.
Ratnasabhapati Pillay for the gift that is to come from him.
THE
BREAK IN THE WEATHER
MADANAPALLI, 18th Nov. – The weather during the past week has been
perfect. The air has been cool and the sun has been shining brightly. This is a
delightful change after the dismal week of continued rain. The nights have been
unusually cool, the mercury falling to 60°, or lower.
EFFECTS
OF THE STORM
Particulars of the devastation caused by the week of storm have been
coming in daily. In the Rayachoti Taluq no less than 101 tanks have been
breached, most of them minor ones. The only two Imperial tanks under the P.W.D.
were also breached. The Travellers' Bungalow in Rayachoti collapsed during the
storm. The back wall gave way, and this caused the larger part of the roof to
fall in. Messrs. B. Swire and F. W. Gooch had taken refuge in the bungalow, but
had to vacate it and be content with the small Police Station. In the Vayalpad
Taluq many minor tanks broke, and two Imperial tanks, which will cost from Rs.
1,000 to Rs. 1,500 each to repair. The Pakala-Dharmavaram section of the South
Indian Railway was considered dangerous, so train-service by night was
prohibited. The many embankments were soaked through and liable to slip,
therefore the convenient night service was suddenly changed to a most
inconvenient day service. Thus the Madras Mails, instead of arriving at 6:30
A.M. were delivered at 3:30 or 4 P.M. Fortunately this arrangement was in force
but two days, when the night service was resumed. Many passengers from
Bangalore for Madras are travelling via the Southern Mahratta) and South Indian
Railways, through Dharmavaram and Pakala to Katpadi, to avoid the three
breaches on the Madras Railway between Bangalore and Gudiyattam.
In the Kadiri Talaq the large Imperial tank, known as the Thalapulla
Tank, which is being constructed by the Public Works Department at an estimated
cost of Rs. 44,000, and which is nearing completion, sustained much damage. The
tank bund crosses a small river bed, and the construction across this was left
to the last. As the embankment was all new, and the force of the current at
this spot peculiarly strong, some 200 yards of the bund were washed away, and
it is estimated that it will cost Rs. 5000 to repair the damage.
The Madanapalle
Taluq was fortunate in having very few tanks breached, though the rainfall was
very heavy. The record rainfall of 55 inches since the 1st April has already been recorded.
THE
DISTRICT BOARD'S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CUDDAPAH, 19th Nov. – The Cuddapah District Board, at a
Meeting held to-day, expressed public thanks for a donation of Rs. 250 from H.
E. the Governor, Sir Ramasawmy's charities and the expected liberality of the
Hon'ble Mr. P. Ratnasabhapati Pillay, for aiding the poor and distressed by the
recent floods.
THE
RECENT FLOODS IN KISTNA
GENEROUS
RELIEF
A correspondent writes that Rajahi Rangayya Appa Row Bahadur contributed
Rs. 400 through the District Officers for the relief of distress caused by the
recent floods in the Kistna River. He also distributed Rs. 100 through his own
Zemindary officials.
Link to my
Urdu article on the same topic, written last year:
https://ehsans-blog.blogspot.com/2024/11/1903.html
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The author can be contacted at ehsanahmed000@gmail.com
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