MADURAI/TIRUNELVELI/KANYAKUMARI: In the wake of copious rainfall in the catchment areas of southern districts, water levels in various dams have gone up. Though there has been a drop in water inflow, warnings have been issued in Vaigai and Mullai Periyar dams.
As per the statistics provided by the Water Resources Department, the inflow into Vaigai dam dropped from 12,000 cusecs on Monday to 6,000 cusecs on Tuesday. While the outflow was maintained at 3,169 cusecs for irrigation earlier the day, it increased to 3,699 cusecs later in the evening, following the release of water for Melur and Thirumangalam farmers.
Whereas in Mulla Periyar dam, with an inflow of 7,000 cusecs, a two-stage warning has been issued. If the dam storage crosses 140 ft in the coming days, then a flood warning might be issued here. Meanwhile, in the Madurai region, around 10 small dams, including Shanmuganathi and Sothuparai in Theni, and Nambiyar in Tirunelveli, remain full to the brim. Whereas, almost all other dams have crossed 80-90 % of their storage capacity in the past couple of days.
Dam Water level (ft) Total Capacity (ft)
[as on Tuesday]
Vaigai 69.55 71
Mullai Periyar 138.85 142
Papanasam 138.4 143
Manimuthar 111.10 118
Pechiparai 45.12 48
Perunchani 74.8 77