People warned as dams raise spillway shutters in Palakkad

Incessant rain since Friday has swelled the inflow into most dams in the district and prompted authorities to release water to ensure safe levels in the dams.

People living on the banks of the Bharathapuzha have been cautioned after the Aliyar dam in Tamil Nadu raised its 11 shutters by 12 cm, discharging 2,274 cubic feet water a second. A statement by the authorities said on Saturday morning that the water level in the Aliyar dam had risen abnormally due to continuous rainfall in the catchment area.

Additionally, 170 cubic feet per second of water is being released through the river sluice and seven cubic feet per second through other channels of the Aliyar dam. Officials said 2,457 cubic feet per second of water would reach the Bharathapuzha.

The current water level in the Aliyar dam is 1,048.85 feet. It means the dam’s current storage is 3,783.81 million cubic feet of water.

Owing to heavy rain in Parambikulam dam’s catchment area, three spillway shutters were raised 10 cm each on Friday night, releasing 1,191 cubic feet of water per second.

Most other dams in Palakkad district too raised their shutters to control the water level in the reservoirs.

The Kanjirapuzha dam opened its three spillway shutters by 20 cm. The dam’s current water level remained at 96.12 m on Saturday morning. The dam’s maximum storage level is 97.50 m.

The Malampuzha dam opened all of its spillway shutters by 5 cm. The current water level in the dam was 112.04 m. It has a storage capacity of 115.06 m.

The Mangalam dam raised all of its spillway shutters by 10 cm. The water level in the dam on Saturday morning was 76.77 m. It has a maximum storage level of 77.88 m.

The Pothundu dam opened two spillway shutters by 3 cm and one shutter by 2 cm. The water level in the dam on Saturday morning was 107.65 m, with a maximum storage capacity of 108.204 m.

The Meenkara dam opened its two spillway shutters by 2 cm. The water level in the dam remained at 156.18 m, with a maximum storage capacity of 156.36 m.

The water level in the Chulliyar dam remained at 153.64 m, with a maximum storage level of 154.08 m.

The water level in the Walayar dam touched 201.80 m, with a maximum storage capacity of 203 m.

The Moolathara regulator opened two of its shutters by 40 cm, one shutter by 20 cm and another by 50 cm as the water level touched 180.90 m. It has a storage capacity of 186 m.

The Siruvani dam opened its river sluice shutter by 5 cm. The water level in the dam touched 876.78 m on Saturday morning. It has a maximum capacity of 878.5 m.