Cheruthoni dam shutters opened

Water level in Mullaperiyar dam rises

As heavy rain continued in Idukki, all five shutters of the Cheruthoni dam were opened on Tuesday evening with water release being maintained at 600 cumecs. It will be increased to 750 cumecs at 1 a.m. On Wednesday.

But water level in the Idukki reservoir dropped to 2,396.88 ft at 10 a.m. on Tuesday and water discharge was reduced to 300 cumecs. The inflow was 968 cumecs and water discharge to the power house was 116 cumecs.

The district administration sounded the first alert to people living in the downstream of the Mullaperiyar dam after the water level reached 136 ft at 4 a.m. on Tuesday. It rose from 135.40 ft at 2 p.m. on Monday to 137 ft at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. The maximum storage level is 142 ft and water will be released into the Idukki reservoir when it reaches that level.

Water discharged on Tuesday morning from the Mullaperiyar dam was 2,200 cubic feet per second while the inflow was 4,419 cft. Munnar town was flooded with water from the Muthirapuzha river after the Mattupetty dam was opened. The Devikulam Sub Collector has alerted the people to move to the hill areas and avoid travel.

Water discharge

The water discharge was increased to 45 cumecs at 6 p.m. from 12.50 cumecs when the shutters of the dam opened at 9 a.m. The areas of Munnar, Muthirapuzha, Kalarkutty and Lower Periyar would be affected, said the Sub Collector. Water level in the Idamalayar dam has also risen. At 2 p.m., it was 168.72 m. The maximum level is 169 m. More water will be released from the Ponmudi dam. Now, water discharge was 22.5 cft after opening of three shutters.