PALAKKAD: The four spillway shutters of the Malampuzha dam was opened by three centimeters each after the level reached 114.88 meters today.
The shutters were opened at 11.45 a.m. in a phased manner. The full storage level was 115.06. Thousands of people had come to witness the opening of the Malampuzha dam.
"Earlier, the shutters were opened in 2013 when the water level reached 114.86 centimeters on August 15. in 2014, the shutters of the dam was opened when the water level reached 114.76 metres on September 9, 2014. This was the first time that the shutters were being opened so early", said S. Padmakumar, Executive engineer of the Malampuzha dam.
He said that the catchment area of the dam received 52 mm of rains today. The water from the Malampuzha dam will flow to the Mukkai river on to the Kalpathy river which is a tributary of the Bharathapuzha. The people staying on the banks of the Bharathapuzha have been advised to be careful. The fire and rescue units have been kept on alert and the control room was monitoring the developments.