Thrissur: The restoration of the damaged shutters of the Peringalkuthu hydroelectric dam across the Chalakudy river will take at least six months, officials of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) have said. The shutters were wrecked as some huge trees that came drifting through the floodwaters got stuck in them. The KSEB has not been able to close six of the seven shutters since then.

Currently, water keeps flowing out even as the dam's sluice gates are closed. Much floodwater has gone out of the dam, leaving an estimated 70 per cent of its capacity. While some areas are dry, water is found amassed in the middle.

The motors and wheels of machines need complete repair, said KSEB officials. The system regulating the shutters also need a revamp. Silt water, bamboo and reed brought by the floodwater are piled up on the motors and wheels of the shutters. The shutter-regulating system and electric cables also were damaged in the flood. The trees, 15 huge ones that rested on the shutters, have since been removed. But bamboo logs remain, delaying repair. Authorities expect a week's time to remove them fully.

On August 14, the water level in the dam had peaked at its maximum storage capacity of 424 metre. All seven shutters were then raised by 3.6 m, and the two sluice gates by 5.1 m. The dam had overflowed two days later.

Shutters at Peringalkuthu are structurally different from those at other dams. While water is regulated by lifting the shutters at most dams, it is the other way at Peringalkuthu. This design is also blamed for the damage of the shutters.

The August deluge had also ruined a part of the road to the dam. The park for tourists were also washed away with only a deep chasm remaining at the area where the park once stood.

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