Aluva: As the first alert ahead of opening the Idukki dam has been sounded amid rising water levels, the authorities are working full swing to regulate the cascading effects it will have on the downstream areas.
The most densely populated stretch along the Aluva taluk will bear the maximum brunt, according to estimates drawn.
The area has 18 villages under it, threatened with water logging once the shutters of the Cheruthoni dam of the Idukki reservoir are lifted.
Also read: What will happen after Idukki dam shutters are lifted?
Foreseeing the prospect, revenue officials have located buildings in the higher areas of the locality to rehabilitate those who could be affected by the water gush.
When a final alert comes, authorities would announce evacuation through loudspeakers.
The police and the Indian Air Force are on standby for deployment.
The Army, the Indian Coast Guard and the Navy are also on call.
The fire force has sent vehicles to its Angamaly and Aluva units. Employees have been asked not to go on leave.
Officials from the revenue department, besides fire and rescue, have visited the place and done a recce of the places that were, in 2013, partly drowned following the opening of the Idamalayar dam.
The Kerala State Electricity Board that is in charge of the reservoir will issue three different alerts in relation to the water level - green, orange and red.
When the water level touched 2,390 feet, the KSEB issued a green alert that asked the locals living on the banks of the Periyar river to be cautious.
