People living downstream of Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala were shifted to a safer place as a precautionary measure as Tamil Nadu, which operates the 126-year-old dam, opened its shutters on Friday morning. Kerala Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine had confirmed on Thursday that two shutters will be opened and 534 cusecs per second of water will be released to maintain water level at 138 feet till October 31. As of 7 am on Friday, the water level at Mullaperiyar dam was 138.75 feet.
Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan and Augustine also inspected Mullaperiyar dam area this morning. Augustine said the Idukki reservoir has enough storage capacity to hold the water being released from Mullaperiyar dam.
Augustine had said that there was nothing to be concerned about and people need not panic as the storage capacity of Idukki was 70.5 TMC as compared to 12.758 TMC of Mullaperiyar and therefore, the water released from the latter would only raise the former’s level by a quarter of a foot.
“Therefore, Idukki will be able to contain the water released from the Mullaperiyar,” the minister said. Meanwhile, state Revenue Minister K Rajan, while speaking to a news channel, said evacuation of people began from Thursday morning and was being carried out in three phases.
Talking to reporters, Rajan said the government has also warned against the social media scare mongers. In view of the opening of Mullaperiyar dam and predictions of more rains in the catchment areas, the government has also sounded a red alert in Idukki reservoir.
A maximum of 859 families comprising 3,320 members may have to be moved, he said and added that the government has made arrangements to accommodate them in camps. Augustine, in the release, said that as the water level in the 24 kilometre stretch from Mullaperiyar to Idukki is expected to rise by about 60 centimetre, a total of 1,079 people from 350 families who would be affected by the two-foot-high flood have been evacuated.
All the preparations made during the opening of the Idukki dam have been taken ahead of the opening of the Mullaperiyar dam, he said. He also said that all the departments like Revenue, Health, Fire Force, Forest and Police have formed special teams and completed the security arrangements.
Besides that police would be patrolling the areas where people have been evacuated from their homes.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is hearing a plea by the Kerala government to ensure that water level is not allowed to exceed 139 feet. In 2018, the apex court passed an order to maintain water level at 139 feet during the Kerala floods as a temporary arrangement.
Citing the recent torrential rains which led to increase in water level in the dam’s reservoir, the Kerala government asked for a similar relief.
Mullaperiyar dam, built in 1895 on Periyar river in Idukki district of Kerala, is operated by the Tamil Nadu government for its irrigation and power generation needs. Kerala is insisting on building a new dam, citing safety concerns, but Tamil Nadu is against it, saying the present structure was strong.
Meanwhile, an orange alert has been issued in six southern districts of Kerala.
(with inputs from PTI and IANS)
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