Idukki District authorities have issued a flood warning as the water level in the controversial Mullaperiyar dam is all set to breach the permissible level of 142 feet.
According to the latest updates, the water level in the dam has touched 142 feet at 10.00 a.m on Tuesday.
The authorities revealed that the water level in the reservoir was 141.95 feet at 07.00 a.m, and it took just three hours to hit the permissible mark.
While the tunnel discharge was 750 cusecs, the average inflow was 1,687.5 cusecs and the storage capacity was 7,666 million cubic feet, the authorities added.
Mullaperiyar dam is one of the oldest dams in Kerala, and it was built between 1887 and 1895 by British engineer John Pennycuick.
Following the 1979 Morvi Dam failure which killed up to 15,000 people, a study conducted by The Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS), Thiruvananthapuram, had reported that the structure would not withstand an earthquake above magnitude 6 on the Richter scale.
Since then, the Mullaperiyar dam has been a bone of contention between Tamil Nadu and Kerala states. Tamil Nadu has always insisted on raising the water level in the dam to 142 feet.
However, residents in the Idukki district have carried out several protests to stop the operations of the reservoir, as they fear a possible destruction of the dam due to natural calamities will cause a flood of unprecedented scale.
(This is a developing story. Stay tuned for more updates)
