Twenty people were killed in rain-related incidents as heavy showers lashed Kerala, authorities said on Thursday, Aug 9.
Idukki district remained the worst affected with 20 deaths, of which five from one family lost their lives after their house caved in due to a mudslide. Rains have been playing havoc in the southern state for quite sometime now.
The five victims were from Malappuram district who were washed away by the waters of the Chaliyar river that has increased to its highest levels since 1994. Most casualties have been reported form the Idukki and Malappuram districts.
State Power Minister M.M. Mani, who hails from Idukki, said: "Things are pretty bad and I have visited the affected areas and on Thursday morning, the shutters of the Idamalyar dam was opened. We will open one shutter of the Idukki dam also..."
The middle shutter of the dam has been lifted 50 cms, releasing up to 50,000 litres of water per second. The other shutters will be lifted only if a need arises.The Idukki dam's shutter was last opened in 1992. The Idukki Dam was constructed along with Cheruthoni and Kulamavu dams. The Cheruthoni Dam was opened on Aug 9.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held an emergency meeting to assess the situation. After the meeting, it was decided that they would do a trial run by opening one shutter of the dam at 12 noon on Thursday, August 9. This decision was made after it was noticed that the water level in the dam was reaching the brim at a fast pace and decisions were being made as soon as possible. The
Idukki Dam, which is known for its arches, is considered as one of Asia's highest arch dams. It supports the 780 MW hydroelectric power station in Moolamattom which began generating electricity in October 1975.
All the shutters of the Malapuzha dam, also in the Idukki district, were opened last week. Many visitors from Kerala and the neighboring Tamil Nadu visited the dam. On Sunday, August 5, the dam recorded 31,293 people visiting the dam.
