Kerala Electricity Workers’ Federation (KEWF) has called upon the Government to take effective and earnest measures to ensure availability of power required during the lean summer months while increasing the power generation at Idukki in order to bring down the water storage in the reservoirs of the Idukki hydro-electric project.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, the KEWF spokesman and veteran trade union leader, M.Sukumara Pillai, said the Government has to seriously think about alternative sources of power availability while directing Kerala State Electricity Board to step up the daily power generation in Idukki in the backdrop of the Mullapperiyar crisis.
According to him, breakage of the Mullapperiyar Dam poses a serious mishap threat to the nearly 45 lakh population residing in its downstream reaches in Central Kerala. It is elementarily incumbent upon the State Government and the society in general to combat the eventuality by resorting to meaningful rescue measures, says he.
Mr Pillai said the exorbitant water level in the century-old gravity dam was detrimental to its very safety and survival. Moreover, the growing public apprehension and the hostage position put up by the neighbouring State of Tamil Nadu too cause added public concern, he said.
The State authorities consciously hold the view that the water level in Mullapperiyar should be brought down to 120 feet as a measure of safety. It was also concluded that the water level in the reservoirs of Idukki project too should be brought down to contain and hold the whole influx of water in the event of a breakage of the Mullaperiyar Dam.
The storage registered in the reservoirs of the Idukki projects in sequence to the recent monsoon was nearly 85 per cent of its total capacity and the decision to lower the water level by stepping up the power generation too was justifiable in the prevailing context, Mr Pillai said.
The KEWF spokesman said that the higher cost of the power State receives from the Central pool is sure to put a heavy financial burden on the KSEB.
The unusual stepping up of power generation with the water resource available at its command would certainly exhaust the capacity of the reservoirs of KSEB, leaving little option before the board other than squarely relying up on various extraneous agencies to make available the required volume of energy to maintain the State’s power distribution system intact, Mr Pillai said.
The KEWF leader has further called upon the Government to provide necessary budgetary support to the KSEB to tide over its imminent financial crisis.
