Idduki: Tamil Nadu government has opened the two shutters of Mullaperiyar dam by 35 centimetres at 7.30 am releasing 534 cubic feet of water in a second through the spillway. As a precautionary measure, authorities issued alerts to people staying on the banks of river Periyar.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments to maintain the water level at 139.5 feet as recommended by the supervisory committee.
Earlier, Kerala Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine said that there is no need to panic as the storage capacity of the Idukki dam was 70.5 TMC as compared to 12.758 TMC of Mullaperiyar. Water released from the latter would only raise the former's level by a quarter. "Therefore, Idukki will be able to contain the water released from the Mullaperiyar,'' said Augustine.
In a press release, Augustine said as the water level in the 24 kilometre stretch from Mullaperiyar to Idukki is expected to rise by about 60 centimetres, a total of 1,079 people from 350 families who would be affected by the two-feet-high flood have been evacuated. He also said that all departments like revenue, health, fire force, forest and police have formed special teams and completed security arrangements. Besides, police would be patrolling the flood-prone areas.
Meanwhile, state Revenue Minister K Rajan, while speaking to a news channel on Thursday, said the evacuation has begun on Thursday morning and was being carried out in three phases. He said a maximum of 859 families comprising 3,320 members may have to be moved and arrangements have already been made to accommodate them in camps.
