Thiruvananthapuram: Considering heavy rain predictions, the KSEB (Kerala State Electricity Board) has opened one shutter of Idukki Cheruthoni dam at 11 am on Saturday.
50,000 lakh litre water per second is being released through the opened shutter of the dam. This will be maintained till 5 in the evening. A meeting to be held in the evening will decide whether to close the shutter or not.
The board has made it clear that there is no need to panic as only one shutter is lifted. However, people living on the banks of Periyar are alerted. At present, water level in the dam is 2387.5 feet.
With the opening of Idukki dam, 13 of the 14 dams under the KSEB have been opened. Chairman N. S. Pillai has informed that the board has decided not to open Lower Periyar dam as it would affect the power production.
Nineteen dams of the irrigation department and two of the water authority have been opened. Among the 83 dams in Kerala, 80 have been kept open. However, water is not released in huge quantity as was done during the flood. Also there is no water flow in some dams as the water level has gone down.
