Thiruvanthapuram: District collector Biju Prabhakar declared a one-day holiday for educational institutions at 5 a.m. on Thursday due to heavy rain. However, the rain did not cause much problems as feared.
Earlier on Wednesday, the rain had caused massive damage to property at Pampa on the foothills of Sabarimala. Later at night, the Met office warned that the rain clouds from Sabarimala may hit Thiruvananthapuram as it was a north-west movement.
Around 11p.m. on Wednesday, the rain marooned the city. Damage was reported at Nedumangad and the assistant collector had sought permission to open relief camps. The shutters of Neyyar dam were opened.
“Since declaring a holiday at 7 a.m. could cause a lot of confusion, we chose to announce it earlier without waiting to see how the rain will continue,” Mr Biju Prabhakar said.
Nedumangad along with Peerumedu received highest rainfall of eight centimetres on Thursday morning.
Earlier, the district administration had announced up to 14 days’ holidays in a year due to heavy rain. However, since the academic days in the state are 180 days compared to over 240 in most other states, the administration is often reluctant to give additional holidays.
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