THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The IMD has issued a red alert for Idukki and Malappuram for Sunday in view of a ‘very heavy rainfall’ warning. Though red alerts were declared for Sunday in Idukki, Palakkad and Thrissur earlier, it was modified on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the KSEB has started releasing water from its dams. It has announced that more dams, including the Cheruthoni dam of the Idukki project, will be opened in view of the IMD warning. One shutter of the Sholayar dam and two sluice gates of the Poringalkuthu dam were opened on Thursday after notifying the Thrissur district administration.
The KSEB has also decided to keep the shutters open at Idamalayar dam though the water level is below 160 m. As a yellow alert is valid for Wayanad and Kozhikode districts, it has decided to release water from Banasurasagar dam and, if necessary, from Kuttiadi dam as well.
Water will be released from the Pampa and Kakki dams taking into consideration the construction taking place at Sabarimala. As a red alert has been declared for Idukki in view of the very heavy rainfall warning, water will be released from the dam even if the level is 15 ft below the maximum water level of 2,403 ft. The decision was taken on the basis of instructions issued by the Chief Secretary and SDMA.
KSEB officers have been instructed to get prior permission from the district authorities before discharging water from the dams. The KSEB has also decided to increase the discharge from the already-opened Mattupetti, Ponmudi and Kundala dams and to open control rooms to coordinate the operation.
The IMD has reiterated its warning that the low-pressure area is likely to form over the south-east Arabian Sea by Friday and develop into a cyclonic storm. “It is very likely to concentrate into a depression and move north-westwards during the subsequent 36 hours. It is very likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm thereafter and move towards the Oman coast,” it said.