IDUKKI: A day after opening the spillway shutters of Mullaperiyar dam, Tamil Nadu opened three more shutters of the spillway and started releasing 2,974 cusecs of water from 4 pm on Saturday. Three of the 13 shutters were raised by 70 cm while three other shutters were opened to a height of 50 cm on Saturday evening as the water level in the dam continued at 138.95 feet despite Tamil Nadu drawing 2,340 cusecs through tunnel and releasing 2,974 cusecs through spillway.
The water level in Periyar rose by two feet at Vallakadavu, the first village located below the dam. The water level in Idukki dam, which stood at 2,398.24 feet at 11 am rose marginally to 2398.28 feet at 5 pm.
Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine, who reviewed the situation at a meeting held at Thekkady Periyar House, said Kerala has made preparations to meet additional discharge from Mullaperiyar dam.
“Kerala has taken steps to ensure the safety of people living in downstream areas and there will not be any problem even if Tamil Nadu tries to bring the water level to 138 feet, the rule curve level set by Central Water Commission, the minister said after the review meeting.
Task forces have been formed at the panchayat level to create awareness among the residents. Police, Fire and Rescue Service personnel and NDRF have been deployed in the area. If schools on the river bank have been converted into relief camp, there is no need to shift the inmates. The opening of schools can be delayed in such places,” he said.
The minister said that Tamil Nadu was providing accurate information prior to water release. Though Tamil Nadu had decided to increase the spill at 6 pm, the authorities accepted Kerala’s request and rescheduled the water release to 4 pm.
Tamil Nadu had opened two spillway shutters of Mullaperiyar dam at 7.29 am on Friday releasing 534 cusecs of water. As the water level continued to rise, one more shutter was raised at 9 pm raising the spill to 825 cusecs. However, the water level rose to 138.95 feet at 11 am prompting Tamil Nadu to raise the shutters to 70 cm releasing 1,675 cusecs of water into Periyar. The Mullaperiyar dam recorded a rise of 15 cm in water level despite the spill at 11 am on Saturday.