6 shutters of Mullaperiyar dam opened; warning issued for residents in Periyar banks……
Idukki: Six shutters of the Mullperiyar dam opened here on Friday. Earlier, Tamil Nadu raised three shutters, followed by three more by 3:00 pm on Friday.
In the wake of the dam opening, the district administration issued a warning to the people living on the banks of the Periyar river. The NDRF unit in Idukki was redeployed to Mullaperiyar. RevenueMinister K Rajan said necessary steps and precautionary measures are taken to evacuate people from the river banks if needed.
The water level in the dam on Friday morning stood at 137.4 feet. Following this, the decision was made to raise three shutters by 0.30 meters. Tamil Nadu government later informed that three more shutters would be raised, thereby releasing 1068.00 cusecs of water.
It is learnt that water inflow into the river continues due to heavy rainfall in the catchment area. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also wrote to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister demanding to draw more water from the dam. The Kerala CM also requested to Tamil Nadu to inform their action to release water from the dam within 24 hours.