The water levels in the Mullaperiyar and Idukki dams do not give any cause for concern at the moment, Minister for Water Resources Roshy Augustine said on Wednesday after reviewing the reservoir situation against the backdrop of the heavy rainfall in the State.
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“The rule curve prescribed for the Mullaperiyar dam is 137.5 ft till August 10 and 138 ft after that, till August 30. The water level is only at 134.85 ft, but the situation is monitored by the hour,” he told reporters here, adding that rainfall seems to be decreasing in the catchment areas of the dam.
Tamil Nadu is currently drawing 1,867 cusecs of water from Mullaperiyar. In the Idukki reservoir, storage now stands at 1,012.565 mcm, which constitutes around 68% of the storage capacity, Mr. Augustine said.
Storage in the reservoir stands at 2,375.5 feet, while the rule curve prescribed till August 10 is 2,383 feet. Inflow into the reservoir is very low as rainfall has thinned in the catchment areas, he said.
Mr. Augustine said the removal of silt and debris from rivers had helped to prevent floods to a great extent during the recent heavy rainfall. One crore cubic metres of silt and debris were removed from the rivers. River desiltation will be taken up annually in the month of February, he said.