The water level in the Mullaperiyar dam continued to be at the maximum level of 142 ft on Wednesday. From November 30, Tamil Nadu has been keeping the water level at the maximum level or close to it.
An official of the Kerala State Electricity Board said on Wednesday that for the past 15 days Tamil Nadu had been maintaining water at the level and the spillway shutters were raised to discharge water to the Periyar after reaching the maximum allowed level of 142 ft. It was meant to give the impression that the dam was safe, he said adding that when the water level receded to 141.90 ft, the spillway shutters were closed.
“Tamil Nadu keeps one shutter open at 10 cm even when water level has receded so as to overrule the norm of giving advance warning to Kerala, which is mandatory in case of opening of the shutters. Tamil Nadu can argue on the technicality that all the shutters were not closed to give advance warning to Kerala.”
Tamil Nadu aims to store the Supreme Court allowed 142 ft for maximum days, said the official.
The Central Water Commission has fixed the upper rule level of the Mullaperiyar dam from November 20 at 142 ft. The water level at 8 a.m. on Wednesday was 142 ft. The tunnel discharge was 900 cusecs and average inflow 844 cusecs.
Idukki water level
The water level in the Idukki dam continued to recede and was 2,400.08 ft at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The blue alert level for the dam is 2,395 ft, orange alert 2,401 ft, and red alert 2,402 ft. The upper rule level is 2,403 ft.
