Pamba: Two shutters of the Pamba Dam in the Pathanamthitta district were raised on Saturday afternoon after its water level rose considerably. Authorities have warned that the water level of the Pamba river on which the dam is built may rise as high as 10 cm as a result.
Authorities have urged people to take all precautionary measures, especially those making their way to the Sabarimala temple. A red alert was already declared in the region after the dam's water level crossed 983.95 metre.
The two shutters of the dam, which is part of the Sabarigiri Hydropower Project, releases 25 to 100 cubic metres of water per second.
Even before the dam waters were released, the Pamba river was overflowing at several places, including Triveni, which is the trijunction of Pamba, Manimala and Achankovil rivers.
The water released from the dam is expected to reach Triveni by 6 pm.
Pathanamthitta District Collector S Divya had earlier alerted that people living downstream of the river may be asked to shift to safer places if dam shutters are raised.
Pamba Dam is located at Seethathodu village in the Ranni Forest Division.
Earlier, two more shutters of the Mullaperiyar Dam were raised after the dam's water level rose to 141.05 feet. At present, its three shutters remain raised by 30cm each.
Sabarimala pilgrimage resumes
The pilgrimage to Sabarimala temple restarted on Saturday after it was briefly called off a day earlier citing hazardous conditions in wake of incessant rains in the region. The authorities started sending devotees stranded at Nilakkal in batches on Saturday.
The decision was taken after water from the Pamba river started to recede at Triveni earlier. However, it remains to be seen if there would be any changes to the latest order after two shutters of the Pamba dam were raised.
Braving inclement weather conditions and the COVID-19 situation, hundreds of devotees have been trekking the hills to offer prayers at the Lord Ayyappa Temple since it opened on November 16 for the two-month-long annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.
As in previous year, devotees are being allowed through a virtual queue system this time also as part of efforts to regulate the flow of pilgrims in view of the pandemic and heavy rains.
