Kerala to approach SC as Tamil Nadu opens shutters of Mullaperiyar Dam without warning

The Kerala government has decided to approach the Supreme Court over the repeated opening of shutters of Mullaperiyar Dam at night by Tamil Nadu. Kerala's Water resources minister Roshi Augustine claimed that Tamil Nadu reportedly opened the shutters of Mullaperiyar reservoir on Monday night without giving prior notice.

"A total of nine shutters were opened without giving prior notice to Kerala, as a result of which water has entered into the houses of the people," said Augustine.

The government official claimed that this had happened many times in the past despite repeated warnings. "The government asked Tamil Nadu to release water in day time after informing Kerala. However, Tamil Nadu repeatedly opened shutters of reservoirs at night," Augustine added.

Notably, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had sent a letter to Tamil Nadu CM in connection with this last week.

Tamil Nadu opens shutters of Mullaperiyar Dam due to rising water level

On Monday night, Tamil Nadu opened nine shutters of the Mullaperiyar dam in view of the rising water level in the reservoir and shut down three of them after 10 PM, the Idukki district administration said. The administration claimed that nine shutters of the dam, which were initially opened at 7.45 pm by 60 centimetres each, were raised by 120 cm (1.20m) to release 12654.09 cusecs of water. Thereafter, three of the shutters were shut down at 10.00 PM and six were kept open to release 8380.50 cusecs of water, it said.

The Tamil Nadu authorities had raised the shutters to 120 cm after the water level of the over a century-old dam reached 141.90 feet at 8.30 pm. The Idukki district administration had to sound an orange alert as the water level in the reservoir there touched 2401.12 feet.

The Mullaperiyar dam, built-in 1895 on the Periyar river in the Idukki district of Kerala, is operated by the Tamil Nadu government for its irrigation and power needs. Kerala has been insisting on building a new dam, citing safety concerns, but Tamil Nadu is against it, saying the present structure is strong

(With inputs from agency)

Image: PTI/ANI