Chennai: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to his Tamilnadu counterpart M K Stalin, stressing the ‘urgent need for the gradual release of water from the Mullaiperiyar Dam through the tunnel to Tamilnadu’.
Vijayan, in a letter written to the Tamilnadu Chief Minister, stated that the inflow to Mullaperiyar dam was 2109 c/s and the discharge level was at 1750 c/s.
‘At present there is a net inflow of around 2,109 cusecs accumulating in the reservoir even after the diversion from Tamilnadu side. With the current inflow it is feared that the reservoir level may reach 142 ft once the torrential rain intensifies. Hence, there would arise an urgent need for the gradual release of water from Mullaiperiyar dam through the tunnel to Tamilnadu,’ he said.
The Kerala CM requested Stalin’s timely intervention in the matter and requested him to give immediate directions to the authorities concerned to ensure that maximum quantity of water is drawn from Mullaiperiyar Dam through the tunnel to Vaigai Dam and to gradually release the water downstream.
Vijayan made the appeal as water levels in the dam, situated on the banks of Periyar river in Kerala’s Idukki district but managed by Tamilnadu, crossed 137.05 feet on Sunday night.
The dam was constructed by the British in 1895 to meet the water requirements of Madurai in Tamilnadu.
