Ooty: Heavy rains forced the closure of educational institutions in Gudalur and Pandalur taluks on the Nilgiris border on Wednesday as the July spell of the southwest monsoon has been vigorous, accounting for heavy downpours since Tuesday evening. Though the wet spell had begun to engulf the hills since Sunday it was only Tuesday that saw good rains accompanied by gusty winds, lashing thehills.

The heavy rain in Gudalur and Pandalur taluks on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning saw the district administration declaring a holiday for educational institutions in those two taluks for a day on Wednesday. The heavy downpour saw minor landslips in a couple of places in the Naduvattam area.





The rains and winds also uprooted a huge tree along the Gudalur-Mysuru NH near Marapalam that paralyzed traffic for more than an hour on Wednesday early morning.

The uprooting of trees in a few places also played havoc with power supply in Ooty and its suburbs on Wednesday.

As the weathermen predicted more rains in the days to come, the district administration in Nilgiris is on high alert. Disaster management teams are kept ready to respond to any emergencies that mayarise due to heavy rains.