KOCHI: The Kerala Dam Safety Authority (KDSA) on Thursday informed the Kerala High Court the allegation that the flood in the state was due to the improper management of water level in dams was unsustainable. K H Shamsudeen, member secretary of the authority, filed the affidavit in response to a petition filed by T G Mohan Das, seeking a directive to the Central Water Commission to conduct an investigation into the mismanagement in regulating the water outflow in proportion to the inflow or to set up a judicial commission to find out the lapses on the part of the statutory authorities.
According to the authority, the function of the dams is to store water and they will serve as an effective controlled mechanism for containing flood situation. In fact, the Central Water Commission had made careful examination of the details of the rainfall and discharge from the dams during the relevant period and came to the conclusion that dams in the state had actually reduced the intensity of flood due to controlled releases.
It was beyond dispute that the management of the total quantity of water was more or less under control until August 14, 2018, when unprecedented rainfall to the tune of 1,032 mm in a span of four days necessitated neutralisation of water inflow for ensuring the safety of dams.
In Chengannur, Tiruvalla and Pala areas, an unprecedented flood had occurred and the same was attributed to Achankovil, Manimala and Meenachil rivers, which do not have dams. The Central Water Commission report was a complete answer to the baseless allegations the flood was on account of the improper management of the dam.
The report also stated all the dams were managed efficiently so as to limit water to the most safety level. The safety and security of the dams were maintained, despite unprecedented rainfall that hit the state. There was no willful inaction on the part of the authority in the matter of preventing the flood situation.
The authority had conducted a periodical inspection of all the major and medium dams and barrages of all departments. During those inspections, no major defect which could be detrimental to the safety and security of dams was noticed by the authority.