PATHANAMTHITTA: The Pampa dam has been opened following extremely heavy rainfall. Six shutters will be raised by two feet. Four shutters were raised by two feet now. The remaining two shutters will be raised shortly. Water will reach Ranni in five hours. When the dam opens itself, the water level in Pampa will rise by 40 cm. The Pampa dam presently has 983.5 meters of water.

Water level in Pampa will rise by 40 cm. In five hours, the water will reach the populated area of Ranni. The Pampa River now flows along its banks. People residing on both sides have been cautioned.

The dam has to be opened when the water level reaches 985 metres. However, Pathanamthitta district collector P B Noohu informed that they decided to open when the water level reached 983.5 metres.

If the rain that is lashing now continues, there are chances for the water level to rise by night. If it is so, the dam will have to be opened by midnight after sounding a red alert. Once the reservoir reaches its full storage capacity, the dam will need to be opened. The collector added that the decision to open the dam without announcing a red alert was part of avoiding such a situation.