Idukki: Three more shutters of the Mullaperiyar Dam were opened after 4 pm on Saturday releasing an additional 1,299 cusecs water.
The waterlevel at Mullaperiyar is 139.5 ft after raising six out of 13 shutters.
On Saturday, the three shutters that were kept open had been raised further to discharge more water to maintain the rule curve at 138 ft.
According to the Supreme Court ruling, Tamil Nadu can maintain the water level at 139.5ft from November 1 to November 11.
The state government informed that the three shutters which were raised by 35 cm each on Friday, was raised to 70 cm at 11am on Saturday after rain intensified. When the water level failed to subside, three more shutters were raised by 50 cm each at 4pm on Saturday. It is understood that the additional outflow will increase the water level at Periyar.
The Idukki district administration has said that there was no reason to panic. Currently an orange alert has been issued at the Idukki dam. However, it has urged people living on the banks of Periyar to be vigilant.
Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine had said earlier that the state was discharging 1,675 cusecs water through the other three shutters.
"Today, there were no heavy rains so there was no variation in water level at Idukki. However, the level had slightly gone up at Mullaperiyar and the shutters have been raised to control the water level," said minister Roshy Augustine on Saturday.When the six shutters are raised, 2,974 cusecs water (84,194 litres approximately) will be following downstream from Mullaperiyar.
