Kerala   

Water level crosses 136 ft.

Staff Reporter

Tamil Nadu opens shutters to increase the discharge into Erachilpaalam area

KOTTAYAM: The water level at Mullaperiyar reservoir crossed the 136 ft mark on Tuesday morning and flowed into Periyar river even as the Tamil Nadu authorities opened the shutters to increase the discharge into Erachilpaalam area.

The water level, which rose to 136.9 ft in the morning, denoting an increase of nearly one ft during Monday night, stabilised at 136.8 ft by 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the total outflow from the reservoir has been put at 20 million cubic feet (mcft) during 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, as per the data available with the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).

Idukki District Collector A.J. Rajan, who visited the reservoir on Tuesday, said water was overflowing through all the 13 shutters of the spillway into the Periyar.

High alert

The administrative machinery was put on high alert and there was no report of any untoward incident, he said.

The water level reached the 136-ft mark by 5 a.m. on Tuesday and people on both sides of the river were informed of the development through public address system. The effort on the part of the Tamil Nadu authorities to increase the discharge of water to their side created a difficult situation, as vehicular service on the Kollam-Theni highway was closed. Water from the reservoir was allowed to flow through the Erachilpaalam area and the bridge and nearly 50 ft stretch of the highway at Erachilpaalam area suffered heavy damages in the flash flood caused by the diversion of water.

Mr. Rajan said the Tamil Nadu authorities informed him that water was being allowed to flow through the area to keep the water level safe.

In addition to the Dam Safety Authority, Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran, Minister for Revenue K.P. Rajendran and KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala may visit the reservoir on Wednesday.

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