Rising water levels at Mullaperiyar dam prompts TN to open one shutter

Heavy rains in the catchment area lead to large inflow to the reservoir

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS R Tamil Nadu has opened one spillway shutter of Mullaperiyar dam on Tuesday morning as heavy rains in the catchment area lead to large inflow to the reservoir, the District administration in Idukki said.

Tamil Nadu had announced it would be raising the shutter of the dam at 8.00 AM by 30 centimetre to release 397 cusecs of water, the Idukki District administration said in a statement. Tamil Nadu decided to open the shutter after water level in the reservoir touched 141.40 feet at 8.00 AM.

The shutters of the century-old dam were closed on Monday. Now the shutter has been opened after 24 hours.

Asking residents on both sides of the Periyar to be vigilant, the statement said people on the banks need not worry when the dam is opened.

After hearing pleas seeking directions for supervising the water level at Mullaperiyar dam last month, the Supreme Court had ruled the water level at Mullaperiyar Dam should not exceed 139.5 ft ft until November 11. Kerala had been contending the rule curve of 142 ft set by Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court of India on Monday ordered that all matters related to the Mullaperiyar Dam case would be considered together and posted the next hearing on December 10. The pleas raising issues about the dam, which was built in 1895 on the Periyar river in Idukki district of Kerala, came up for hearing before a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and C T Ravikumar.

The apex court in its interim order on October 28 said the Mullaperiyar Dam Supervisory Committee would continue to be in force and said Tamil Nadu can increase the water level in the dam up to 142 feet from November 30.