Will ask TN to avoid opening Mullaperiyar dam at night: Kerala Minister

Kerala Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine said the Tamil Nadu government would be asked to avoid releasing water from Mullaperiyar dam at night as was done in the small hours of Tuesday.

The minister, while speaking to the media, said Tamil Nadu informed at around 2.30 AM that it would be opening two shutters of the dam due to heavy rains in its catchment area.

Subsequently, it raised more shutters between 5.00 AM to 9.00 AM as water in the dam reached 142 feet, he said and added that around 1.6 lakh litres of water per second was released after nine shutters of the reservoir were opened.

As a result, the water level of the Periyar went up and reached close to the danger mark.

The minister said the Tamil Nadu government and the Central Water Commission would be informed that releasing water at night like this could affect the rescue operations or preparations in Kerala and therefore, the same be avoided.

He said this aspect was communicated to Tamil Nadu earlier also.

If any heavy rainfall is expected at night, then in anticipation of the same, water can be released in advance from the dam during day time, he said and added that this would be communicated to the neighbouring state’s government.

Water for Tamil Nadu and safety of Kerala were the important aspects to be considered.

Presently, three shutters of the dam have been raised by 30 centimeters and the rest have been shut, he noted.