IDUKKI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the Mullaperiyar dam receiving heavy inflow following incessant rain and Tamil Nadu deciding to release water from Friday morning, the Idukki district administration has completed preparations for evacuation of people living in downstream areas from Thursday morning. As many as 3, 320 people belonging to 884 families will be evacuated and shifted to 20 relief camps from 7am on Thursday.
The water level in Mullaperiyar dam crossed 137.80 feet at 9pm on Wednesday as the inflow increased in the afternoon. Considering the situation, Tamil Nadu decided to release water from Friday morning.
The maximum water level set by Central Water Commission for the month is 138ft and the water level in the dam is set to cross this rule curve by Thursday morning.
Tamil Nadu has been drawing 2,300 cusecs of water from the dam while the inflow was nearly 5,800 cusecs. Kerala closed the shutters of Idukki dam on Wednesday and the water level stood at 2398.06ft at 10pm. If Tamil Nadu releases water from Mullaperiyar, KSEB will have to release water from the Idukki reservoir as the rule curve for the month is 2,398.86ft. The full reservoir level of the dam is 2,403ft.
Water Resource Minister Roshy Augustine said the state has taken all measures, anticipating the opening of the dam’s spillways.
Special committee’s report: Kerala expresses dissent
Earlier in the day, the Mullaperiyar dam supervisory committee submitted a report before the SC saying there is no need to change the permissible level of 142ft set by the court. Kerala expressed its dissent. The SC allowed Kerala to submit its response on the committee’s decision. It will also apprise the court of its concerns about the rising water level in the dam, said Revenue Minister K Rajan.
The case will be considered again at 2pm on Thursday. Kerala is for constructing a new dam after decommissioning the existing structure to alleviate the fears of people, Rajan said. As an immediate step, Kerala has asked Tamil Nadu to bring down water level in the dam to 137ft as the rule curve of 138ft on October 30 cannot be agreed upon now considering flood threat. TN has said it would open the spillways when the water level reaches the rule curve mark.