Dam safety chief to visit Idukki dam today

To analyse dam functioning, including security aspects

Chairman of the Dam Safety Authority of Kerala C.N. Ramachandran Nair will visit the Idukki dam for two days from Thursday.

An official of the Dam Monitoring and Research Station on Wednesday said top officials of the Irrigation Department and the Kerala State Electricity Board would accompany him.

After visiting the Malankara dam, the team would inspect the Kulamavu dam of the Idukki reservoir on Thursday. On Friday, the team would inspect the Cheruthoni dam and Idukki arch dam.

The visit was to analyse the functioning of the dam, including its security aspects. The official said the team would inspect all dams in the State, including the irrigation dams.

This was part of a routine exercise done twice a year in the Idukki dam, said the official adding that the second visit was usually done in October/November when storage would be maximum in the reservoirs after the monsoon.

The water level in the Mullaperiyar dam receded to 141.95 ft on Wednesday after reaching the maximum storage level of 142 ft on Tuesday. Tamil Nadu closed all spillway shutters by 11 a.m. Over 5,000 cusecs was released to the Periyar on Tuesday after opening nine spillway shutters.

However, Tamil Nadu raised two spillway shutters by 30 cm each by 7 p.m. releasing about 842 cusecs to the Periyar.

The official said the water level in the Idukki dam remained almost steady despite the release of water from the Mullaperiyar dam. The water level on Wednesday was 2,400.50 ft.

The Mullaperiyar waters did not make much of an impact in the Idukki reservoir as nearly 5,000 cusecs was used for power generation at Moolamattom. Moreover, the inflow was less in the Periyar for the past three days due to the absence of heavy rain.

He said in the present conditions, the water level in the Idukki dam was likely to decline if power generation continued at the same level.

The water level in the Idukki dam continued to be at the blue alert level after the Central Water Commission revised the new rule curve level on November 21 with the upper rule curve at 2,403 ft, which is also the full reservoir level.