The heavy rain that left a trail of destruction across the State last week appeared to have tapered off on Tuesday, but with more than 30 brimming dams spewing water through spillway shutters, residents in the downstream areas remained on high alert.
The rising water level in reservoirs forced authorities to turn their attention to dam management. The shutters of most dams were raised further as the heavy inflow from catchment areas continued.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin wrote to his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan that the Mullaperiyar dam posed no threat to Kerala and that flood regulation was being done as per the rule curve. Residents along the banks of rivers in Palakkad, Thrissur, Wayanad, Pathanamthitta, Idukki and Ernakulam were put on high alert against inundation by floodwaters.
All the five shutters of the Cheruthoni dam of the Idukki reservoir and 13 shutters of the Mullaperiyar dam were opened. Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine reviewed the situation in the downstream areas of Mullaperiyar dam.
As many as 85 families were shifted to relief camps at Vallakadavu, Vandiperiyar, Chappathu and Upputhara. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was deployed at Chappath following reports that the bridge at the location was in danger.
Two shutters of the Pampa dam and four gates of the Kakki-Anathodu reservoirs were raised to increase the release of water. One more shutter of the Banasura Sagar dam in Wayanad was opened on Tuesday. More families in Panamaram panchayat were evacuated to safer places.
The low-lying regions along the Periyar river have been placed on high alert after four shutters of the Edamalayar dam were opened by Tuesday evening. The influx of water from the Bhoothathankettu barrage and Chruthoni dam in Idukki was being closely monitored. The Ernakulam district administration opened relief camps for the residents in the low-lying areas of Eloor.
In Palakkad, the sluice gates of the Malampuzha, Kanhirapuzha, Mangalam, Pothundi, Chulliyar and Siruvani dams and the Moolathara regulator were opened to release water. The Aliyar dam in Tamil Nadu also continued to discharge water into the Bharathapuzha river and its tributaries.
Meanwhile, the weather office has forecast widespread rain across Kerala with isolated heavy rainfall till August 11 under the influence of a depression over coastal Odisha and an offshore trough from Gujarat to the Kerala coast.
