IDUKKI: The Tamil Nadu PWD chief engineer on Saturday issued the first warning to Kerala after the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam reached 136ft.
The water level rose from 135.50ft at 7am on Saturday and reached 136ft at 6pm. The water level at 7pm was 136.20ft and by 11pm the water level was 136.55ft. There has been a rise in the water level for the past few days.
Recently, the central water commission (CWC) approved the rule curve of Mullaperiyar. As per the rule curve during the October 21-30 period, the upper rule level is fixed at 137.75ft. It has been learnt that the Supreme Court will consider the case on Monday and take further decisions. The maximum storage level is 142ft.
Meanwhile, there has been a slight increase in the water level in the Idukki reservoir on Saturday evening. The water level in the reservoir fell from 2,398.20ft at 7am to 2,398.16ft at 3pm. But the water level rose to 2398.28ft at 7pm, which is 94.47% of the total storage. The number 3 shutter of the Cheruthoni dam remained open to 40cm. The generation at the Moolamattom power plant continued to be at the maximum level, and the power generation on Friday was 14.718mu. The dam was in the orange alert level as per the rule curve level announced by the CWC. As per the rule curve, the red alert level is 2,398.31ft, and the upper rule level is 2,399.31ft.
Water resource minister Roshy Augustine said that the government has asked Tamil Nadu to take maximum water from Mullaperiyar. “It was also demanded to release water through the spillway and sent a letter to the central water commission and Tamil Nadu. Idukki is capable of holding the water from Tamil Nadu, and if the need arises, we will raise more shutters of Cheruthoni reservoir,” the minister said.
