Water level rises, all shutters of Maniyar Dam overflowing

PATHANAMTHITTA: Water overflowed over all the shutters of the Maniyar Dam of the Pampa Irrigation Project following heavy rains. The problem is that the water level in the reservoir rose following the rains that lashed the hilly region since last afternoon. Raising the shutters were delayed for hours due to a power outage in the dam. This caused panic among the people in the area. Water overflowing over the shutters is a major safety breach.

This is the first time in the history of the project that water is overflowing over all the shutters. There have been controversies regarding the operation of the shutters of the Maniyar Dam for the past few years. The problem is that the repair of the faulty shutters is taking a long time. It is reported that the entire system for controlling the water level in the dam has been disrupted as water is overflowing the shutters.

Meanwhile, the employees at the dam had worked hard and raised shutter number four by evening. After the electricity was restored late at night, shutters one, two and four were able to be raised by 100, 250 and 150 cm respectively.

Meantime, the streams in Chittar overflowed due to strong winds and rain that battered last evening. Traffic was also stopped after a teak tree fell on the Chittar road. Traffic resumed after the fire brigade arrived and chopped the tree.