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Ten places on the Coonoor-Mettupalayam National Highway and the Kothagiri-Mettupalayam Highway in Nilgiris district, which were hit by landslides and mudslides, were cleared of debris on Friday.
The movement of traffic was restored after the highways were cleared of rubble from the landslip incidents on Thursday. Traffic was halted on the Mettupalayam-Coonoor route and motorists were advised to take the Mettupalayam-Kotagiri route instead after landslides were reported in the area. Over the last 24 hours, Mettuapalayam in the Coimbatore district received the season's heaviest rainfall at 373 mm while the Nilgiris recorded 369.9 mm of rainfall, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). The director of the Chennai Regional Meteorology Department, Balachandran, said more heavy showers were likely in the Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts over the next two to three days. "Several areas in these two districts received heavy rainfall over the last 24 hours. The clouds, which were seen mostly in the eastern parts of the Bay of Bengal, have now started moving. As many as 45 locations (in the Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts) recorded heavy rainfall (over the last 24 hours), 8 places recorded very heavy rainfall, and 2 recorded extremely heavy rainfall. Light to moderate rainfall is expected in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry over the next two to three days. However, heavy rainfall is forecast for the Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts over the next two to three days," he said. Meanwhile, the Indian Railways on Wednesday suspended train services on the Nilgiri Mountain Rail Route (NMR), between Coonoor and Mettupalayam, following heavy rainfall and landslides in the region. Persistent wet weather led to a mudslide, blocking the railway track at Hillguro between Kallar and Runnimedu, officials with the South Salem Division of the Railways informed. With the Met department putting out a forecast for more rain in the region, the mountain train service was cancelled as a precautionary measure. The district collector for the Nilgiris declared a holiday for all government and private schools in Coonoor and Kotagiri on Friday, amid heavy rainfall in the region. A cyclonic circulation is likely to develop over the South Andaman Sea and the neighbourhood around 25th November, as per the Chennai Meteorological Department. According to the IMD, light to moderate rains are expected to continue across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal area on Friday. (ANI)
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