Mullaperiyar dam opened, nearly 500 cusecs of water released

Kochi: People living downstream of Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala were shifted to a safer place as a precautionary measure as Tamil Nadu opened shutters of the 126-year-old dam on Friday morning.

The Tamil Nadu government, which manages the Mullaperiyar dam although it is geographically located in Kerala's Idukki district, opened the floodgates on Friday to release water that's rising at an alarming rate.

Kerala Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine had confirmed on Thursday that two shutters will be opened and and 534 cusecs per second of water will be released to maintain water level at 138 feet till October 31. As of 7 am on Friday, the water level at Mullaperiyar dam was 138.75 feet.

Nearly 500 cusecs of water was reportedly released initially by opening the 3rd and 4th shutters by 35 cms each as around 400 families living on the banks of Periyar river have been relocated.

At present, the water level in the dam has reached 138.40 ft. Tamil Nadu is opening the shutters to maintain the water level at 138 feet till October 31.

"There is nothing to be concerned about and people need not panic as the storage capacity of Idukki is 70.5 TMC as compared to 12.758 TMC of Mullaperiyar. Therefore, the water released from the latter would only raise the former's level by a quarter of a foot. Idukki will be able to contain the water released from Mullaperiyar," Roshy said, according to news agency PTI.

A total of 859 families consisting of 3,320 members have been moved and the government has made arrangements for them in rehabilitation camps.

The water level in the 24 km-stretch from Mullaperiyar to Idukki is likely to rise by around 60 cms, due to which 1,079 people from 350 families would be affected by the two-feet-high flood.

Meanwhile, an orange alert has been issued in six southern districts of Kerala.