Idukki, First Published Dec 4, 2021, 11:28 PM IST
Idukki: With the water level of the Mullaperiyar Dam reaching 142 feet, Tamil Nadu has opened three more shutters on the spillway. The two shutters opened at eight o’clock at night. To this day, Tamil Nadu does not accept the state’s demand not to release excess water at night.
Currently, 1682 cubic feet of water is being pumped out through four shutters, each 30 cm wide. Tamil Nadu carries 1687 cubic feet of water. The rise in water level was due to the lowering of the spillway shutters and the reduction in the amount of water being carried to Tamil Nadu. Rainfall in the catchment area of the dam has also increased the flow of water. Meanwhile, the water level in Idukki Dam dropped to 2400.78 feet.
Read More: Mullapperiyar: Grass price for CM’s letter; Water also flowed from Mullaperiyar last night
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had expressed concern over the unannounced opening of the shutters of the Mullaperiyar Dam. Last night too, Tamil Nadu was flooded on a large scale by the Mullaperiyar ordering the price of grass for the Chief Minister’s letter. Raising the shutters of the Mullaperiyar spillway in the middle of the night without any warning is causing great concern among the people along the Periyar coast.
Tamil Nadu raised eight shutters 60 cm each to open the water at around 2.30 am yesterday while the people on the banks of the Periyar were sound asleep. Informed revenue officials, media persons and people’s representatives woke up the sleeping people and informed them. With this, the panicked stretchers left the house and went to the road. At three-thirty, two more shutters were raised. With this, the amount of water released increased to more than eight thousand cubic feet. Ten houses in Manjumala Atoram and Kashikkad Atoram were flooded. People grabbed what they could get their hands on and ran away. At this time, the vehicle of the revenue officials who came with the announcement was stopped by the locals and sent back. There were also protests against revenue officials.
The water came out of the houses when the shutters started closing at 5.30 pm. Then at ten o’clock the three shutters were raised again. Concerned Periyar coastal residents took to the streets in protest. Locals blocked the Kottarakkara Dindigul National Highway and the Vandiperiyar police station.
Last Updated Dec 4, 2021, 11:55 PM IST
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