On Friday, Tamil Nadu raised the shutters of the Mullaperiyar dam, located in the upper reaches of the Periyar River in Kerala, to release the excess water. As a precautionary measure, people living downstream of the Mullaperiyar dam have been evacuated. In a few hours, water is expected to reach the Idukki reservoir in the neighboring state of Kerala, which has been placed on high alert.
Since the dam opened at 7 am on Friday, many houses have been submerged, however, no untoward incidents have been reported. In two hours, the Mullaperiyar dam will release water to maintain its level at 138 feet and reach the Idukki reservoir. According to people familiar with the matter, the Idukki dam might be opened to ease pressure.
A press release issued by Kerala’s water resources minister Roshy Augustine on Thursday urged people not to panic and said there was no need to be anxious. The water storage capacity of Idukki was 70.5 thousand million cubic feet (TMC), compared to 12.758 TMC of Mullaperiyar and the water released from the latter would only raise Idukki’s level by a quarter of a foot. As part of the evacuation, people were moved into camps. Mullaperiyar Dam was constructed in 1895 on the Periyar River in the Idukki district of Kerala.
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The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments to abide by the decision of the Supervisory Committee regarding the level of water in the Mullaperiyar dam. The supervisory committee has recommended maintaining Mullaperiyar dam’s water level at 139.5 feet. At the same time, dam authorities in Kerala are monitoring the potential consequences of torrential rains. Heavy rain is forecasted in a few districts. Earlier this month, heavy rains caused flash floods and landslides in Kerala that killed 42 people.
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