IDUKKI: Busy battling the crisis triggered by the relentless rain and flooding over the past week, the Idukki administration is facing a new problem – the deluge of fake news sparked by incorrect reporting and rumours.
Recently, fake messages, saying that the Mullaperiyar dam might burst, were circulated on social media, causing panic among people. The district administration, however, debunked the claim.
In an official Facebook post, District Collector V Vigneswari said the present water level in the dam was stable. “As per the rule curve, 137ft is the water level when the dam’s shutters have to be raised. The water level on Saturday was 131.75 ft.
Hence, there is no emergency situation prevailing to raise the dam shutters,” She added that all necessary measures have been taken in case the shutters had to be raised.
As per the data of the district administration, water in Mullaperiyar dam was at the 131.75ft-mark on Sunday. The permissible level is 142ft. Periyar and Thekkady, the dam’s catchment areas, recorded no rainfall on Sunday. The average inflow into the dam was 1,540.98 cusecs, while the discharge was 1,405.56 cusecs on Sunday.