Water released from Mullaperiyar dam for irrigation of double crop

MADURAI: Water was released from Mullaperiyar dam on Thursday as water level crossed 137 feet mark. Theni district collector Pallavi M Baldev released the water for irrigation of double crop.
The dam in Kerala has been getting a good inflow of water due to the rain in its catchment areas, including Vandiperiyar, Sapathu, Upputhurai and Karingul.
While the dam can hold water up to 152 feet, the Supreme Court has ordered that water could be stored only up to 142 feet.
Usually water is released from the dam in the first week of June for the first crop in the Cumbum valley that covers an area of 15,000 acres. However, this year water was not released as the level stood at 115 feet.
As much as 300 cusecs of water was released from the dam, of which 200 cusecs would be used to irrigate 14,707 acres in the Cumbum valley and 100 cusecs to meet drinking water needs of Theni district.
The water flow will be regulated by the public works department (PWD) based on the storage level.
On Thursday, the inflow of water into the Mullaperiyar reservoir was 2,211 cusecs, and 2,160 cusecs of water was being released from it.
In the Vaigai dam, water stood at 44.55 feet with an inflow of 1,985 cusecs and an outflow of 72 cusecs.