KOCHI: The Mullaperiyar dam, operated by Tamil Nadu, is exceptionally vulnerable because of its large catchment area and limited storage capacity, the state government informed the Kerala High Court on Monday. The state made the submission following a directive from the court to furnish the details of dam management.The Mullaperiyar reservoir has a catchment area of 624 sq km and effective storage capacity of 7.666 TMC. Due to the heavy rain that lashed the state, the water level in Mullaperiyar dam reached 131.25 ft at 2 pm on August 7.
The Kerala Government requested Tamil Nadu to draw maximum water through tunnels and store it in Vaigai dam, from where they can gradually release the water to downstream areas. Once the water level reaches 136 ft, the opening of shutters should be intimated at least 24 hours ahead to provide time to take precautionary measures and ensure the safety of the people living in the downstream of the dam. Besides, Kerala approached the Central Water Commission (CWC) urging to instruct Tamil Nadu to initiate favourable action. Now, the water level in Mullaperiyar dam is constant at 136.95 ft. Tamil Nadu is maintaining the inflow and discharge at 2,160 cusecs, the report said.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) said rescue teams of National Disaster Relief Force (NDFR), Army and Air Force were kept ready in view of the torrential rain. Since heavy rain is predicted for this monsoon, the NDRF was requested to preposition 10 teams in the state. The BSF was requested to deploy two water wing teams with amphibian vehicle in Palakkad and Kannur. Helicopters and aircraft of the Air Force were kept ready and positioned in Thiruvananthapuram and Coimbatore for movement of troops or relief activities.
The Army had kept 10 Boat Assault Universal Type (BAUT) teams -- five each in Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur. BAUTs are most reliable for flood response. Nine teams of Army were kept ready in Thiruvananthapuram while two teams of Defence ServiceCorps were ready for response in Kannur. In addition, six teams were kept deployment ready in Coimbatore, the KSDMA stated.The Irrigation Department said the storage in its 16 dams and four barrages has reached only 61.8 per cent of the total capacity. The Irrigation dams have a total capacity of 1,570 MCM and the current storage is only 971.39 MCM. Only Kallada and Malampuzha dams have significant storage of more than 200 MCM. The storage in these two dams is 62 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively.