Kerala sounds alert for people living near Periyar

Kochi: The Ernakulam district administration has urged people residing along the banks of the Periyar river to remain vigilant after the Idamalayar dam was opened on Tuesday to discharge 50 cumecs of excess water.

The Cheruthoni and Mullaperiyar dams were already opened and the shutters were today raised to a higher level as the water inflow into the reservoirs were high.

The water level at the Mullaperiyar dam, which is managed by the Tamil Nadu government, is at 139.6 feet, prompting the authorities to raise 10 shutters by 90 cm each and three by 30 cm each discharging 2,216 cusecs of water.

Meanwhile the water level at the Idukki reservoir has increased to 2,387 feet and three shutters of Cheruthoni dam have been raised to 120 cm while two have been raised to 40 cm.

 A red alert was issued in Idukki dam when the water level reached 2382.53 feet. The FRL of Idukki dam is 2,403 feet.

The Idukki reservoir consists of two dams, the Arch dam and the Cheruthoni dam and the shutters of Cheruthoni dam were opened for the first time in 26 years in 2018, to mitigate the worst flood faced by the state in a century.

The water level at Periyar river, where the water from these dams flow into are slowly increasing, district authorities said.

 Currently the water level is at 2.335 m. The flood warning will be issued at 2.50m. It will cross the danger level when the water level reaches 3.76 m, district authorities said, adding that, the people residing along the banks of the river should remain vigilant.

Similarly, the Banasura Sagar dam in Wayanad has also been opened and the water level has gone up to 774.35 m. The authorities have opened two shutters by 10 cm.

On Monday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had asked the people to remain vigilant as major dams across the State have been opened and the water level in the rivers was likely to rise.

 Vijayan had said that the state government has taken measures to evacuate people from areas where the water level is likely to rise but asked everyone to remain cautious as the water inflow to the dams and reservoirs are still strong due to rains in the eastern part of Kerala.

 He had said that the water was being released in a controlled manner in strict adherence to the rule curve. – PTI