Kerala on Thursday urged Tamil Nadu to maintain the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam in Idukki district at a safe level, given the heavy rainfall forecasts.
In a letter, Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine sought the urgent intervention of S. Duraimurugan, Minister for Water Resources, Tamil Nadu, to regulate water discharge to steadily bring down the level to ‘‘a safer point’‘ in view of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts regarding heavy rainfall.
Idukki is on orange alert for isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall on Friday, according to a Thursday evening weather update by the IMD.
Kerala wanted Tamil Nadu to inform it 24 hours in advance regarding the opening of the dam’s spillway shutters so that people residing downstream could be given sufficient warning.
Mr. Augustine pointed out that the water level in the dam was nearing 136 ft. If the situation persisted there could be a drastic rise in the water level in the dam due to the heavy inflow.
‘’It may be ensured that there is enough flood cushion in the reservoir space for holding water in case of heavy and incessant rain in an unpredictable manner,’‘ he said.
