Idukki/Thiruvananthapuram: Tamil Nadu authorities raised two gates of the Mullaperiyar dam by 35 centimetres at 7:30am on Friday to maintain the water level at 138 feet till October 31. Later in the night, a third shutter was also opened as the water level continued to remain above the 138 feet limit.

With the three shutters open, 825 cusecs of water is being released to Periyar river from the dam.

Water released from dam reached the first residential area of Vallakkadavu through the Periyar within 20 minutes. The water flows through Manjumala, Vandiperiyar, Mlamala, Shanthippalam, Chappath, Aalady, Upputhara and Ayyappankovil to join Idukki reservior.

Meanwhile, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has sounded a Red alert in Idukki dam as the water level crossed the 2398.31 ft-mark on Friday. The KSEB officials on Thursday said that they received permission from the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) to open the dam shutters at 3pm on Friday.

No need for panic about Idukki reservoir
Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty informed the Kerala Assembly that water released from the Mullaperiyar Dam will not create any problems in the reservoir of the Idukki Dam.

Minister Roshy Augustine said that there was nothing to be concerned about and people need not panic as the storage capacity of Idukki was 70.5 TMC as compared to 12.758 TMC of Mullaperiyar and therefore, the water released from the latter would only raise the former's level by a quarter of a foot.

Augustine, in the release, said that as the water level in the 24 kilometre stretch from Mullaperiyar to Idukki is expected to rise by about 60 centimetre, a total of 1,079 people from 350 families who would be affected by the two-foot-high flood have been evacuated.

Evacuation in 3 phases
State Revenue Minister K Rajan, while speaking to a news channel, said evacuation of people began from Thursday morning and was being carried out in three phases.

A maximum of 859 families comprising 3,320 members may have to be moved, he said and added that the government has made arrangements to accommodate them in camps.

“The government believes that the present situation is not as serious as it was in 2018, when the Mullaperiyar Dam was opened and the worst floods in 100 years ravaged Kerala. Teams of Revenue and police officials along with personnel from the Fire and Rescue Services and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed,” said Rajan.

“The District Collector will make announcements regarding the release of water from Mullaperiyar. We also appeal everyone to desist from circulating rumours on social media,” he added.

“The state government will be carrying out relocation of people based on the amount of water flowing out of the dam. Relief camps, vehicles and officials are ready to implement the plans prepared for the purpose. Moreover, Roshy Augustine is in constant touch with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan,” he explained.

All the departments like Revenue, Health, Fire Force, Forest and Police have formed special teams and completed the security arrangements. Kerala’s Water Resources and Revenue officials are also regularly communicating with authorities in Tamil Nadu on the matter.

Besides that police would be patrolling the areas where people have been evacuated from their homes.

On Thursday evening, the water level in Mullaperiyar Dam stood at 138.20 feet. While the inflow into the reservoir was 3,175 cubic feet per second, Tamil Nadu was taking water at the rate of 2,300 cubic feet per second to that state.

As per the estimates prepared by the Kerala Government, flooding would occur only in the low-lying downstream areas of Mullaperiyar Dam if the water is released in a controlled manner.

The Supreme Court had on Thursday said that Tamil Nadu and Kerala would abide by the water level notified by the expert committee as per which it would be maintained at 139.5 feet till November 10 in the over-a-century-old Mullaperiyar dam.

Mullaperiyar Dam was built in 1895 on the Periyar River in the Idukki district of Kerala.