The water level in the dam has increased by a foot on a single day
The water level in the dam has increased by a foot on a single day due to increased inflow following heavy rain in the catchment areas in Kerala. In the last 24 hours ending 6 am on Tuesday, the catchment areas of Mullaiperiyar received 44 mm
Chennai: The water level in the Mullaiperiyar reservoir on Tuesday touched the 133-foot mark with an inflow of over 3,710 cusecs. If the present inflow of over 3,500 cusecs is maintained for the next three days, the water level will reach 136 feet by October 30 or 31, according to PWD sources
The water level in the dam has increased by a foot on a single day due to increased inflow following heavy rain in the catchment areas in Kerala. In the last 24 hours ending 6 am on Tuesday, the catchment areas of Mullaiperiyar received 44 mm rainfall.
On Monday, the water level stood at 132 feet with an inflow of over 3000 cusecs. The discharge from the dam stood at 456 cusecs. With water level in the dam inching towards the 136-foot-mark, the five-member sub-committee, comprising two Kerala and Tamil Nadu PWD officials, would visit the dam on October 30 to provide necessary information about its status to the Supreme Court constituted high-level supervisory committee. The supervisory panel will be visiting the dam on November 3.
The panel, comprising Central Water Commission (dam safety organisation) chief engineer L.A.V. Nathan and Tamil Nadu public works department secretary M. Saikumar and Kerala water resources department additional chief secretary V.J. Kurien, will inspect the dam and discuss future course of action.
The sub-committee, which makes periodic inspection to submit its report to the SC panel, inspected the dam last on October 13. In the inspection, the Kerala engineers raised the issue of increase in the water seepage in the dam.
Meanwhile, Flood alert has been sounded in Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Cuddalore and Coimbatore districts and district collectors have formed special squads to evacuate people living in low lying areas, adjacent to lakes and reservoirs brimming up in southern and western districts.
“Major reservoirs including Amaravati, Mettur and Manimutharu have filled to the brim and the engineers have been asked to monitor the inflow and outflow of water,” a PWD official said.
Inflow and outflow of the reservoirs are under constant monitoring, said Krishangiri collector T.P. Rajesh. Police, revenue and village administrative officers have been instructed to alert the public about the release of surplus water from the reservoirs.
"Two days back, it was pouring in Tirunelveli district and on Tuesday the situation is normal. So far two people died of lighting and about 100 houses were damaged. Compensation and relief materials were provided and the special squads are monitoring the lakes and canals to prevent any breach," said Tiruneveli district collector M. Karunakaran.
“Waterlogging has affected several hectares of crops in delta districts and we have submitted a memorandum to the government seeking relief,” said Mr Arupathy Kalyanam, general secretary, Federation of Farmers Association (Cauvery Delta Region).
Parts of western districts including Coimbatore and Tirupur, received rainfall on Tuesday. Following discharge of surplus water from rivers and dams, the district officials sounded flood alert in low lying areas. River Noyyal is overflowing with two major tanks brimming to full and about 4,000 cubic feet of surplus water from Amaravati dam is discharged, sources said.
Weather Update
The met department forecast rains for southern TN. And for Chennai, light rain is expected for the next two days, due to a trough shaping as cyclone is moving towards the western part of the country.
Several parts received heavy rain on Monday and Tuesday. Samayapuram (Tiruchy) received 18 cm, Gobichettypalayam (Erode) 13 cm, Oddanchatram (Dindigul) 12 cm, Mettupatti (Madurai) and Bhavanisagar (Erode) each 11 cm.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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