From Monday it may be sun day in city

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has recorded 23 per cent excess rainfall during the current North-east monsoon season, with Friday being the only exception, Met officials said here on Saturday. The State has so far realised 28 cms of rainfall this monsoon season against the average 22 cms, they said.After the monsoon set in, Friday was the only day with less average rainfall. During the 24 hours ending Saturday morning, the State received only 60% of the expected rainfall, they said. The downslide in the first spell of rains that began on Friday is expected to continue, and on Sunday, the entire state will receive lesser rainfall compared to the previous days, said Dr Y E A Raj, Deputy Director General of meteorology, Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai.   These rains could be due to a vortex over Central Arabian Sea. From Monday, mainly dry weather is being forecast, he said.Though the city got a reprieve from the morning rains on Saturday, the sky was overcast and rains began since the afternoon. The other areas of the state did not receive significant rainfall on Saturday, the Met official said. As of 5.30 pm, Nungambakkam had received 35.4 mm of rainfall, while Meenambakkam recorded 34.1 mm.Significant rainfall of 6 cms was recorded in Chembarambakkam (Tiruvallur district) and Watrap (Virudhunagar district), while Usilampatti received 5 cms and the stations at Anna University and DGP Office, Chennai airport, Thammampatti (Salem district) and Annur (Coimbatore district) recorded 4  cm each, as of Saturday morning.Incessant rains that the city has witnessed has resulted in overflowing of reservoirs. While water from Poondi reservoir was released into the Cooum on Friday, the Water Resources Department released about 500 cusecs of water from Chembarambakkam reservoir into the Adyar river .“The water was released through the Chembarambakkam surplus causeway into the Adyar River. This process actually helps flush out all the pollutants in the river and clean it up to a point,” he said. The rains have led to complaints of vector-borne diseases in some areas.  “People are complaining of fever in T Nagar, as we notice that sewage has mixed with stagnant water in the last few days. This has made the place a breeding ground for mosquitoes, whose menace has significantly increased,” said Lavanya, a resident of T Nagar.