The Hindu : Kerala News : Mullaperiyar reservoir water level remains high

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Wednesday, Nov 07, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala

Mullaperiyar reservoir water level remains high

Staff Reporter

On Tuesday evening, it stood at 137.9 feet

Crisis management committee visits the dam
Control rooms, monitoring cells opened

KOTTAYAM: The water level in the Mullaperiyar reservoir continued to be on the higher side of the Central Water Commission-stipulated upper limit for the ninth consecutive day on Tuesday.

According official sources, the water level on Tuesday evening was 137.9 feet, which is lower than the all-time high for the current season, 138. 3 ft, which was registered on Monday.

A sudden spurt in the inflow on Sunday had resulted in a swift increase in the water level on Monday, which was nearly one and a half feet higher than the previous day. The unprecedented phenomenon had created panic on the Kerala side and the district authorities have been on high alert since then.

Heavy rain has been recorded in the interior Periyar reserve and the Tamil Nadu border, which form the catchments of the reservoir. According to official sources, the inflow in the reservoir on Tuesday evening was 5,699 cubic feet per second. The discharge to the Tamil Nadu side has been put at 1,931 cubic feet per second.

Meanwhile, the discharge through the 13 gates of the spillway into the Periyar has been put at 3,229 cubic feet per second. The sudden increase in discharge on Monday had caused the water level in the Periyar to rise nearly 3 ft, but it has come down by nearly a feet on Tuesday. According to Kerala State Electricity Board sources, the water level in the Idukki reservoir on Tuesday evening was 2,396.9 ft above mean sea level. The electricity generation during the past 12 hours was 15.395 million units.

District Collector Ashok Kumar Singh and members of the crisis management committee visited the dam on Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, 24-hour control rooms are functioning at the Collectorate and the Peerumade taluk office.

Special monitoring cells are functioning at Kumily, Periyar, Manchumalai, Ayyappancoil and Upputhara.

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