The Irrigation department began opening shutters of the Thanneermukkom barrage on Friday.
Officials said that 21 of the total 90 shutters were opened till evening. “The shutters are being opened in a phased manner. The rest of the shutters will be opened in the coming days,” said an Irrigation department official.
The department started opening shutters as per a decision taken at a meeting chaired by District Collector Alex Varghese on Thursday.
Saline-water intrusion
The department usually closes down the shutters by December 15 every year to prevent the intrusion of saline water into Kuttanad, as an increase in salinity would be detrimental to paddy cultivation in the region. The department was supposed to reopen the gates on March 15 once the paddy harvest was completed. However, the opening of the shutters had been delayed in recent years due to the late harvest of paddy, much to the ire of fisherfolk, including clam collectors.
