Water level in Mullaperiyar dam touches crucial 142 feet

Water level in  Mullaperiyar dam touched the 142-ft mark, the maximum limit fixed by the Supreme court,  in the wee hours of Friday. This is for the first time since 1979, the water level registered a height of 142 ft.  

On Thursday morning, the water level in the reservoir  stood at 141.8 feet  and heavy rain in the night caused a sudden increase in the level. The water level touched the maximum mark by around 2 am on Friday, said  an official of the water resources department who camped there. Later the level decreased to 149.9 ft.

The reservoir had a total water storage of 7,666 million cubic ft as on Friday morning.

The rising water level has raised concern over the safety of thousands of people in downstream villages like Vallakkadavu, Vandiperiyar, Nalukandam, Chappath,  Upputhara and Ayyappan Kovil.

Soon after the water level hit 141.9 feet, Tamil Nadu started transferring more water to Vaigai dam in the state through the Irachipalam canal from Friday morning onwards.  Vaigai dam is operating at 37 per cent of its capacity.

Meanwhile, officials said inflow to the reservoir had increased to 1,400 cubic ft/second.  If the inflow increases to 2,000 cubic ft/ second,  Tamil Nadu will open 12 shutters of the dam. Tamil Nadu has also decided to open the Vaigai dam’s shutters once it reaches full capacity.

Theni district collector KS Palanisamy said the shutters would not be opened unless there is an emergency. Tamil Nadu is making all efforts to keep the water level at 142 feet for 24 hours and plans to bring it down to 136 feet gradually. The state gave a warning to the Idukki district administration on Friday.