The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has opened shutters (30 cm) of the Moozhiyar dam, Pampa dam and the Kakki-Anathode twin reservoirs of the Sabarigiri hydro-electric project in the Moozhiyar forests on Friday afternoon following a forecast of heavy rain till Sunday.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the District Disaster Management Authority chaired by District Collector P.B. Noohu on Thursday evening. The Disaster Management Authority had also declared Orange alert in Pathanamthitta district.
‘No need for panic’
The news on the opening of shutters left the residents of Ranni, Kozhencherry, Adoor, Mallappally and Thiruvalla taluks, already affected by the recent floods, panicky.
Media offices were flooded with distress calls from different parts of the district, asking whether those residing along the river banks should be shifted.
Mr. Noohu said there was no need for panic as the dam shutters had been opened as a precautionary measure in the event of a very heavy rainfall as in mid-August. Presently, there was no need of panic and the administration had been fully geared up to meet any exigency, he said.
KSEB executive engineer Ganesan K. told The Hindu that water level in all the three reservoirs had been below the crest-level, and hence there was no need to panic. Though the shutters were kept open, water would flow out only once it crossed the crest level.
Mr. Ganesan said the storage position in Kakki and Pampa dams was 77.32% and 53.79% respectively of their full reservoir capacity.
The water level in the Pampa dam was 6.5 metres below the crest level and that of the Kakki-Anathode twin reservoir was 40 cm below the crest level, he said.
Moderate rainfall
Mr. Ganesan said the rainfall was moderate in the catchment areas of the Sabarigiri reservoirs. Catchment areas of Kakki had received 18 mm rainfall on Thursday while that of Pampa was 17 mm.
Mr. Ganesan said the release of water from the Kakki-Anathode, Pampa and Moozhiyar dams would be 150, 100, and 50 cumecs respectively.
