District Collector K. Gopalakrishnan on Saturday ruled out any lapses in the decision to raise five shutters of the Aruvikkara dam in the early hours of Friday.
The shutters had to be raised on account of the unexpected heavy downpour in the region that generated inflow beyond the capacity of the small dam, Mr. Gopalakrishnan said in a Facebook post.
His response came in the wake of allegations that the public was not alerted before the shutters were raised.
The opening of shutters began by 3.30 a.m. after alerting the police and Revenue Department. Precautionary steps were taken before the operation, he said.
Yellow alert
“A yellow alert had been issued for the district from 1 p.m. on Thursday to 3 p.m. on Friday, which indicates a rainfall volume of 6 cm to 11 cm. However, we received 22.3 cm of rain,” Mr. Gopalakrishnan said.
Moreover, the dam at Aruvikkara was not a storage dam, but one used to regulate water flow.