Regulate water discharge from Mullaperiyar dam, Kerala CM writes to Stalin

Vijayan, in his letter, urged Stalin to give directions to authorities concerned to ensure that the discharge from the dam is more than inflow, taking into consideration the heavy rainfall in the catchment area of the dam, which has been the centre of a decades-long dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Vijayan also wanted Kerala to be informed at least 24 hours in advance about opening the shutters of the dam, so that the state can take necessary precautionary steps downstream.

Tamil Nadu, the custodian of the dam located in Kerala, announced that it would open three shutters of the dam at 11.30 am on Friday. As per the initial plan, 534 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of waterwas t be released from the dam and the quantum of discharge would be increased to 100 cusecs in the afternoon.

The water discharged from Mullaperiyar dam would flow to the state’s largest reservoir Idukki, where a blue alert (the first level of warning before lifting shutters) has been prevailing since Wednesday.

Since last Sunday, marked by the current bout of heavy rains, Kerala had reported 20 deaths. Over the last two days, the state had relocated as many as 6285 persons to 200-odd temporary relief camps from many low-lying areas and from the banks of swollen rivers.

The opening of shutters of Peringalkuthu dam had triggered panic along the banks of River Chalakudy in Thrissur on Thursday, leading to shifting of several families. However, as rain subsided on Thursday night, the water level in the river was found to have not crossed danger level on Friday morning. However, a flood-like situation prevailed in Kuttanad region in Alappuzha, where several families have been shifted out of low-lying areas.

As the Met Department has predicted heavy rains till August 9, the state has put its disaster management machinery on alert.

According to IMD, a low-pressure area is likely to form over Northwest and adjoining West central Bay of Bengal around August 7. Besides, a shear zone exists over South peninsular India between 5.8 km and 7.6 km above mean sea level tilting southwards with height.