THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the water level at Mullaperiyar reaching 136 feet, Kerala has urged Tamil Nadu to release water from the reservoir in a phased manner.
Kerala Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta wrote to his TN counterpart TK Shanmughan requesting that necessary directives be issued to officials to release water through the tunnel to Vaigai Dam and further outside. Kerala should be informed at least 24 hours prior to opening shutters, he said.
The Chief Secretary pointed out that the state has been witnessing heavy rains, especially in Idukki district. Following this, the water level at the catchment area of Mullaperiyar reservoir has been steadily increasing. The water level, which was 116.2 feet on August 3, touched 131.25 feet on August 7 by 2 pm.
With the IMD predicting a red alert in the district for the next two days, it's expected that there will be heavy rainfall in the region. Currently the inflow to the dam is 13,257 cusecs of water and 1650 cusecs is the outflow through the tunnel.
In the last 24 hours, 198.4 mm and 157.2 mm of rainfall were recorded at Mullaperiyar Dam and Thekkady respectively. The water level went up by seven feet during this period and is likely to go up further.
As per information provided by the Executive Engineer MI Division Kattapana, the surplus shutters of TN-controlled Periyar Dam are capable of releasing 1,22,000 cusecs of water. The Chief Secretary also pointed out the extent of damage when 23000 cusecs of water were released in 2018. Hence urgent action should be taken to release water in a phased manner, he said.
The Chief Secretary further added that the shutters of Peringalkuth reservoir have been opened after water rose in the Chalakkudy basin. Therefore when reservoirs under the PAP system are opened, TN should get in touch with the Kerala engineers and provide information regarding intensity of flooding and water flow, he requested in his letter.