Mullaperiyar level rising, Idukki on alert

Reservoirs across the State fast filling up; shutters of Neyyar, Moozhiyar dams opened

August 05, 2013 02:00 am | Updated June 02, 2016 01:22 am IST - KATTAPPANA:

A view of the swollen Kakkattar downstream of the Kakkad powerhouse at Seethathode on Sunday afternoon.

A view of the swollen Kakkattar downstream of the Kakkad powerhouse at Seethathode on Sunday afternoon.

In view of the increase in water level, seven control rooms have started functioning at vulnerable areas of the Mullaperiyar dam.

District Collector Ajit Patil on Sunday visited the dam and held a meeting with officials of revenue, police, forest and Fire and Rescue Services at the Peerumade taluk office.

Tamil Nadu had been asked to draw maximum water to keep the level low than the capacity of 136 ft, Mr. Patil said.

He said the level was 132.8 ft now. The control rooms were functioning at Kumily, Periyar, Elappara, Upputhara, and Manjumala village offices and at the Peerumade taluk office and the Vallakadavu forest office.

The offices were functioning 24 hours and would remain open until August 15. The offices would continue to work beyond August 15 if the wet spell continued, Mr. Patil said.

There would be complete coordination between various departments for meeting any challenge, he said. Safety zones had been marked at many places and fences there removed for easy movement of the people.

Revenue and panchayat officials had identified educational institutions to operate relief camps, if needed. Loudspeakers had been installed at the control rooms.

Meanwhile, water level in the Idukki dam was 2,385.30 ft against the full level of 2,403 ft.

Once the Mullaperiyar dam reaches full level, water will flow down to the Idukki reservoir.

One missing

In a landslip at Kunjthanni, near Adimali, around 9 p.m. on Sunday, one person was missing and two others were injured. Preliminary reports said earth caved in on the house of Varikayil Pappachan, who is missing. Three other members of the family were rushed to the Adimali taluk hospital. Rescue operations were continuing.

Moozhiyar dam

Staff Reporter writes from Pathanamthitta: The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) opened the shutters of the Moozhiyar dam of the 50-MW Kakkad hydroelectric project at Seethathode for the second time in 12 hours on Sunday afternoon following heavy inflow from the catchment areas.

KSEB sources at Seethathode told The Hindu that water level in the Moozhiyar had almost touched the full reservoir level (FRL) of 196.4 ft on Saturday evening.

The small barrage in the downstream reaches of the Kakkattar too had been kept open for the past two days in view of the heavy inflow.

Water level in the Moozhiyar dam rose by not less than one metre within 30 minutes on Sunday afternoon, forcing the KSEB to open the dam shutters. KSEB sources suspected a landslip in the Sayippinkuzhy forests in the upper reaches of the Moozhiyar, leading to the sudden spurt in inflow on Sunday. The Kakkattar breached its banks along certain stretches by 6.30 p.m.

District Collector Pranab Jyotinath has alerted the people living on the banks of the Pampa and Kakkattar to remain vigilant against release of more water from the Moozhiyar dam if the heavy inflow continued.

This could cause flooding in the lower reaches of Ranni, Kozhencherry, Aranmula, and Upper Kuttanad.

KSEB member Mohammed Ali Rawther said the storage position in the Kakki-Pampa twin reservoirs of the Sabarigiri hydroelectric project, the second largest of its kind in the State, had recorded 82 per cent on Sunday morning.

Neyyar dam

Staff Reporters writes from Thiruvananthapuram: The shutters of the Neyyar dam were opened on Sunday evening following heavy inflow into the reservoir due to unrelenting rain in the district in the last few days.

Chief Engineer (Irrigation projects) B Jayaram said the dam’s water level stood at 84.6 metres where as the full reservoir level was 84.75 metres.

“The shutters were opened by four cm to steady the heavy inflow of water into the reservoir.

“There will be 24-hour watch and the department has employed officials at the site,” he said.

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