Kalpetta: Authorities failed to inform people of some regions in Wayanad before lifting the shutters of the Banasura Sagar dam last week, a local village official alleged.
The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has refuted the charge.
On Wednesday, the sluice gates of the reservoir across a tributary of the Kabani river in the state’s north-east region were opened for three days. On the first day, the shutters were opened 200 metres. On two subsequent days, an average 290 metres of the shutters were opened.
By Wednesday night, hundreds of houses downstream were inundated. The residents were forced to flee to refugee camps. One of the worst affected areas was Padinjarthara. Village officer P P Prasad alleged that the civic body wasn’t informed that the sluice gates would be opened.
KSEB officials said a sudden spell of heavy rain prompted it to open the sluice gates. The move was announced through social media, they said. The information was also spread through a WhatsApp group administered by the District Disaster Management Authority.
Landslides triggered a deluge warranting swift action, a KSEB official said, defending the decision to open the sluice gates.
The civic body in Padinjarathara will submit a memorandum to the district collectorate listing the extent of damage to the village due to the decision to open the shutters of the Banasura Sagar dam without prior warning.
