Kochi: The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) and the Idukki district administration are gearing up to open the shutters of Cheruthony Dam on Tuesday on a trial basis even as the water level in the Idukki Dam reached 2,394.36 ft at 10 pm on Sunday as against the storage capacity of 2,403 ft.
As per the plans, shutters will be lifted up to 40 centimetres on a trial basis for four hours. Two of the seven shutters of Lower Periyar Dam were opened as the water level reached 253 metres, the optimum level of the storage capacity of the dam.
According to an estimate by KSDMA, nearly 4,500 buildings comprising residential units, business establishment and schools on the immediate vicinity of both sides of the banks of the rivers are likely to be affected by the opening of the shutters of Cheruthony Dam. The estimate has been prepared with help of satellite mapping and digital mapping systems.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that all possible precautions have been taken to meet the situation. A unit of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) will be stationed at Idukki while two other units will be camping at Aluva and Thrissur, respectively.
The Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard have been alerted for assistance in case of an emergency.
The water-level at the Idukki Dam has reached 2,394.28 ft from the sea level and rise in the level by one more feet will lead to declaration of the Orange Alert, a senior official of the KSDMA said. The district administration said that 12 relief camps have already been set up for accommodating people in case of evacuation. A control room will start functioning from Sunday night and red alert message signifying the extreme gravity of the situation will be issued 24 hours before the opening of the shutters.
The steps for evacuating the people will commence after the declaration of the Orange Alert. A meeting of the district administration held on Sunday decided to restrict the people likely to come to see the opening of the shutters at Cheruthony. As per the estimate, the opening of the shutters at Cheruthony, part of the Idukki dam complex, will lead to the water gushing to the Lower Periyar Dam and from there to the Bhoothathankettu dam. Water from Bhoothathankettu will flow through River Periyar in Kalady, Aluva to the Arabian Sea. It is estimated it would take nearly six hours for the water to reach the Arabian Sea after the opening of the shutters at Cheruthony.
