IDUKKI: The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday started releasing water from the Mullaperiyar dam through six shutters again after the catchment areas received heavy rain since Tuesday night.
The public works department of the Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday lifted eight shutters (V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7, and V8) to a height of 60 cm to release 2986 cusecs water in addition to the tunnel discharge, officials said. Though the six shutters of the Mullperiyar dam were opened in two phases on Friday and Saturday, five shutters were closed on Tuesday. But the heavy rains last night have forced the authorities to reopen the shutters again, officials said. There are 13 shutters in total.
Tamil Nadu, which operates the dam, had opened the shutters last week to release 2974 cusecs of water from Mullaperiyar after the water level crossed 138 ft as a result of floodwater running off its catchment areas due to heavy rain.
Inflow doubles
The water level went up in the Mullaperiyar dam by Tuesday evening as the inflow doubled to 5082.54 cusecs due to heavy rain in the catchment areas. The catchment areas of the dam – Periyar and Thekkady -- recorded 3.2 mm and 24 mm rainfall respectively on Wednesday at 6 am.
As per the data given by the Idukki district administration, the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam had reached 138.95 ft against the full level of 142 ft. Nearly 3005 cusecs were let into the Periyar river through spillways from Wednesday.
“The Idukki reservoir, which carries the water released from the dam already has 94% of water capacity. With the water level inching close to 139.5 ft to be maintained at the Mullaperiyar dam till November 11 as advised by the Supreme Court, the surplus water had to be let out. A flood warning has been issued in areas downstream of the dam and along the Periyar River. The Idukki reservoir may carry up to 7,000 cusecs. This is minimal compared with its capacity,” said an official. As against the full reservoir level of 2,403 ft, the Idukki reservoir water level stood at 2,398.16 ft at 6 am on Wednesday.