Exactly a year ago, Cheruthoni, the first town downstream of the Idukki dam wore a deserted look.
Traffic on the Puliyanmala-Thodupuzha State highway was disrupted and debris brought by the river was strewn all over the place.
“It was on August 15 last year that the quantity of water released was suddenly raised from 12 lakh litres at 3 p.m. to 15 lakh litres at 5 p.m. The damage caused was massive. Houses were flooded and furniture and portions of houses got swept away,” Mr. Kuriakose, a nearby resident, said.
Many abandoned their houses and either moved to relief camps or relatives’ houses.
The situation was not different in other parts of the district, where large-scale landslips were reported.
The rainfall increased steadily from August 14 and on that night, many complied with the district administration’s announcement through loudspeakers to vacate houses.
Residents remember
Cheruthoni residents remember the floodwater engulfing the areas and how they escaped, abandoning their life savings. “Even now the Periyar downstream of the dam has not returned to its former self. Large rocks have filled the river and it has an entirely different look,” adds Mr. Kuriakose.
The works on a portion of the State highway has not been completed even now. Many shops have perished. The situation turned worse last year because water from the Mullaperiyar dam was also released to the Idukki reservoir. Now, water level in Idukki reservoir is below 50% of its total reservoir level. There is no immediate threat of a release of water from the Mullaperiyar dam either as it has water below 10 feet to reach its maximum level of 142 ft. “Compared to the last August floods, the situation is bright though crops were damaged in the rain this year. Though the landslip threat still prevails, the situation is not alarming,” said an official of the Revenue Department.
Many have been rendered homeless, but the devastation caused by a natural calamity too disappears from the public conscience soon, Saji Dominic, a researcher in Environmental Science. He said the frequent floods had underscored the importance of soil sensitivity. Proper rules must be enforced for buildings on slope. Cheruthoni will remain as a gloomy picture of flood devastation for long, he added.
