Kerala rains: Pinarayi Vijayan urges TN CM Stalin to discharge water from Mullaperiyar dam

In view of the red alert of heavy rainfall in 8 districts of Kerala, CM Pinarayi Vijayan has requested the Tamil Nadu govt to discharge more water from the Mullaperiyar dam than the inflow.

Significantly, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert in 8 districts of Kerala on August 4 as rains continue to batter specific regions of the state, disrupting the regular lives of the people, to the extent that roads were damaged in certain areas and people were displaced to be moved to relief camps in a few places of the state.  

Kerala urges Tamil Nadu to bring water level to a safe position

In light of the red alert issued by the IMD of heavy rainfall in eight districts of Kerala including the district of Idukki, CM Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin to reduce the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam to a safe position as it has already reached a mark of 136 ft and if the rains continue, there will be a drastic rise in the water flow into the dam. "Due to the precarious situation at the Mullaperiyar dam catchment area, I would seek your urgent intervention to regulate the water discharge, so as to steadily bring down the water level to a safe point in the light of the IMD predictions of heavy rainfall."

Hence CM Vijayan requested the TN CM 'to give directions to the authorities concerned to ensure that the outflow/discharge from the dam is more than the inflow' in case the water level of the Mullapriyar dam rises due to heavy rainfall following the red alert. 

The Kerala CM also urged for informing 24 hours in advance, 'about the opening of the shutters of the dam so as to take precautionary measures for ensuring the safety of the people residing downstream of the Mullaperiyar dam'.

Red alert issued in 8 districts of Kerala

IMD issued a red alert for 8 districts of Kerala on August 4 - Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad and Kannur; an orange alert for the remaining districts, except Thiruvananthapuram where a Yellow alert is in place.

A Red alert stands for rainfall of over 20 cm in a time span of 24 hours, which is considered to be heavy to extremely heavy rains, while an Orange alert means heavy rains between 6 and 11 cm. Heavy rains in Kerala have increased the water levels of many rivers, which are flowing over their danger levels, which also resulted in six dams reaching their red alert water storage levels, informed Kerala’s Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

In the last few days, over 18 people have lost their lives due to rain-related incidents in Kerala. Additionally, several properties and thousands of people have been moved to relief camps, the state government informed on August 3, Wednesday.

IMAGE: ANI / MKSTALIN - Facebook / PTI