Kereal Floods: Lower water level of Mullaperiyar dam, panel on disaster management tells TN

In the wake of Kerala floods, a disaster management sub-committee to monitor the water level of Mullaperiyar Dam today asked Tamil Nadu to keep water limit of the reservoir 2-3 feet below the 142-feet FRL mark till August 31, a senior official in the Water Resources Ministry said.

The committee comprising officials from the Centre, including the Water Resources Ministry, Kerala and Tamil Nadu reviewed the water level of the reservoir.

"Keeping in view that rainfall may take place as monsoon is still active, the government of Tamil Nadu was advised that the reservoir may be operated as per he directions given (by the Supreme Court) last week. The level can be kept 2-3 metres below the FRL (Full Reservoir Level) of 142 feet," the official said.

Kerala today told the apex court that the sudden release of water from the Mullaperiyar Dam by the Tamil Nadu government was one of the reasons for the devastating deluge in the state.

Last week, the apex court also took a note of the "grave" flood situation in Kerala and ordered the disaster management panel of the Mullaperiyar Dam to urgently decide on lowering the water level by three feet.

The direction to the disaster management sub-committee to reduce the water level up to 139 feet from the existing 142 feet came in the backdrop of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan writing to his Tamil Nadu counterpart E K Palaniswami seeking lowering of the water-level in the Mullaperiyar Dam in the interest of its safety.