Incessant rain and gusty winds that lashed the district threw life out of gear on Tuesday.
The four shutters of the Banasura Sagar reservoir of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) at Padinharethara were opened after an interval of five days owing to the heavy rain.
Water was being discharged at 300 cumecs through the spillway after the shutters were raised by 235 cm at 6.15 p.m., the State emergency operation cell of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority said.
The shutters were raised up to 250 cm on August 8 owing to heavy rainfall in the catchment area of the reservoir. It caused huge damage to property and cattle wealth in five grama panchayats on the banks of the Panamaram river and its tributaries.
The shutters may be raised up to 250 cm late in the day depending on the inflow to the reservoir, dam safety officials said.
“People on the banks of the Panamaram river and its tributaries should be on alert. But, there is no need to panic as all measures are in place to meet any emergency,” District Collector A.R. Ajayakumar told The Hindu.
The district received 2,906.19 mm of rainfall from May 28 to August 14 this year, as against 1,019.42 mm during the corresponding period last year. An average of 116.14 mm of rainfall was recorded in the district on Tuesday alone.
