Kerala saw no casualty on Friday, but strict vigil has been advised on the banks of the Periyar river in the Idukki and Ernakulam districts. Tamil Nadu has opened three shutters of the inter-state Mullaperiyar Dam at 12.30 pm on Friday as water level in the dam crossed the permissible level of 137 ft because of the incessant rains in its catchment areas within Periyar Tiger Reserve of Idukki district in Kerala. As per the plan, 534 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water will be released from the dam to Idukki dam in the downstreams. People on both sides of the river Periyar which flows through central Kerala have been told to remain alert. By evening, 1000 more cusecs of water also will be released.Kerala Irrigation Minister Roshy Augustine told media persons that the shutters of the Idukki dam also will be opened in case of the storage raising over the permissible level.
Published Aug 05, 2022 | 1:39 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 05, 2022 | 1:47 PM
A total of 534 cusecs of water will be released from the Mullaperiyar dam — in picture — to the Idukki dam downstream. (Supplied)
Tamil Nadu opened three shutters of the interstate Mullaperiyar dam at 12.30 pm on Friday, as the water level in the dam crossed the permissible level of 137 ft because of the incessant rains in its catchment areas within Periyar Tiger Reserve of Idukki district in Kerala.
As per the plan, 534 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water will be released from the dam to the Idukki dam downstream.
People on both sides of the river Periyar, which flows through central Kerala, have been told to remain alert. By evening, another 1,000 cusecs of water will be released.
Kerala Irrigation Minister Roshy Augustine told reporters that the shutters of the Idukki dam would also be opened in case the water rose beyond the permissible level.
Idukki District Collector Sheeba George said all precautionary measures have been taken to meet possible emergencies.
The water level in the Idukki dam at present is at 74.10 percent of its capacity, which is 10 percent higher than the level on the same day last year.
In the meantime, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has sought the urgent intervention of his Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin in regulating the water discharge from Mullaperiyar to ensure the reservoir’s water level within the safety parameters.
“As you are aware, the State of Kerala has been experiencing heavy rainfall for the last few days. India Meteorological Department (IMD) has already issued a red alert in several districts of Kerala, including Idukki, and the water level of the Mullaperiyar dam is nearing 136 feet. If this situation persists, there will be a drastic rise in the water level in the dam due to the heavy inflow into the dam,” Vijayan said in his letter.
He also requested Stalin to direct the authorities concerned to ensure that the outflow or discharge from the dam was more than the inflow, taking into consideration the heavy rainfall in the catchment area of the Mullaperiyar dam.
He also urged Stalin to inform Kerala about the “opening of shutters at least 24 hours in advance so as to take precautionary measures for the ensuring the safety of people residing downstream of the Mullaperiyar dam”.
Tamil Nadu’s opening of the Mullaperiyar shutters — allegedly without warning — in 2018 caused flooding in Kerala and kicked up a political row.
In the meantime, rains have subsided across Kerala, though climate experts predict that the ongoing downpours will continue till Tuesday.
Meanwhile, authorities have clarified that the flood warnings remain in place, especially in low-lying regions of central Kerala, where rivers have breached the banks.
As the intensity of rainfall has come down, the IMD has removed red alerts from all districts.
Nevertheless, parts of central Kerala — especially in the low-lying Kuttanad region in Alappuzha — are underwater.
An orange alert continues in nine districts.
Water levels had reached alarming levels in the Chalakudy and Gayathri rivers in central Kerala.
The severity of Thursday’s situation was highlighted by the large-scale evacuation of people living on the banks of the Chalakudy river in the Thrissur district as the weather predictions suggested a large amount of water would have to be released from the Peringalkuthu reservoir, which would receive excess inflow from dams that are upstream in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
However, the worst did not come to pass as the rainfall subsided, and the river has not risen in the way the district administration had feared.
Yet, the state government is exercising caution and is preparing for a controlled release of water from some of the dams to avoid any future emergencies if rainfall intensifies in their catchment areas in the next few days.
At Nadukani in Malappuram, those who travelled by car and truck managed a providential escape after an uprooted tree fell on them.
In Thiruvananthapuram, a major landslide was reported in the tourism location Ponmudi. However, no casualty was reported from any part of the state in the last 24 hours.
