Idukki: More spillway shutters of the Mullaperiyar Dam have been raised on Wednesday as the water level in the reservoir remained high with increasing inflow of water. Currently, eight out of the 13 shutters are open and of that 7 were opened on Wednesday.

Six shutters of the dam were raised earlier on the day as the water level went up to 138.95 feet.

The dam currently has an inflow of 3,131.96 cusecs following heavy rains in its catchment areas.

The shutters were raised to a height of 60 cm each by the Tamil Nadu authorities in charge of the dam. Currently, 3,981 cusecs is being released.

(Cusec is a unit of flow, especially of water, equal to one cubic foot per second.)

Mullaperiyar Dam, built in 1895 on the Periyar river in Idukki district of Kerala, is operated by the Tamil Nadu government for its irrigation and power generation needs. Kerala is insisting on building a new dam, citing safety concerns, but Tamil Nadu is against it, saying the present structure is strong.

The Supreme Court has fixed the rule curve, which is maximum water level in a dam at various stages in a year, at 139.5 ft until November 11.