Shutters of Mullaperiyar dam likely to be opened tomorrow, says Tamil Nadu

IDUKKI: With the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam crossing 134 feet, the spillway shutters are likely to be opened tomorrow. The Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department Assistant Engineer has informed the Kerala authorities that the shutters will be opened due to the high inflow of around 6,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) into the dam.

If the shutters are opened, water will be released through the Periyar River. As per the rule curve approved by the Central Water Commission, the spillway shutters must be opened when the water level reaches 136 feet. The first warning is to be issued when the level reaches 134 feet, but Tamil Nadu has reportedly failed to comply with this requirement. It was only when the level reached 134.3 feet that they informed Kerala about the possibility of opening the dam tomorrow.

As per protocol, the second warning and red alert should be issued at 135 feet, and the third warning, along with the dam opening, should occur at 136 feet. In previous years too, Tamil Nadu has been criticised for not issuing timely alerts when the water level rose unusually. Kerala has repeatedly raised this issue during oversight committee meetings.

Once again, Tamil Nadu appears to be attempting to store the maximum possible volume of water, disregarding the rule curve. According to the latest data, the current water level is 134.40 feet. The maximum permissible storage capacity of the dam is 142 feet.

At present, 5,920.24 cusecs of water are flowing into the dam every second. Of this, 1,867 cusecs are being diverted to Tamil Nadu’s Vaigai dam. The shutters of the Vaigai dam, which has reached 62.01 feet, have already been opened and were raised further yesterday. The full capacity of the Vaigai dam is 72 feet. The last time the Mullaperiyar dam was opened was in August 2022.