No need to release water from dams now, Kerala tells HC

The state received heavy downpour from August 15 to 17, which disturbed the equilibrium of river flow and caused the flood.
Kerala High Court (File Photo| A Sanesh, EPS)
Kerala High Court (File Photo| A Sanesh, EPS)

KOCHI: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a normal monsoon of 94 to 104 per cent this year which does not require immediate release of water from dams, the state submitted before the Kerala High Court on Friday.  The water level in the dams and the actual and predicted rainfall are being closely monitored by authorities, and the engineers of the departments concerned have been entrusted with the task of supervising the events. Emergency action plans, Standard Operation Procedures and rule curves have been implemented. 

Respective dam owners and the Disaster Management Authority are vigilant in the matter, Irrigation executive engineer P S Koshy and senior government pleader P Narayanan informed the court. The statement was filed in response to a suo motu writ petition initiated on the basis of a letter addressed to the Chief Justice by Justice Devan Ramachandran on the issue of regulation of dams waters. The report said the flood in 2018 was caused by unprecedented heavy rain which was not predicted by the IMD. 

The state received heavy downpour from August 15 to 17, which disturbed the equilibrium of river flow and caused the flood. In Kerala, there are no dams exclusively built for flood control. However, flood cushions -- which means additional storage above full reservoir level -- are provided to regulate flood water in reservoirs, it stated.In the event of an ‘extreme rainfall’, the spillways will be opened. During such exigencies, the protocol established in the emergency action plan would be put in place for early warning and evacuation of the downstream population, the report said.

‘TN refused to share Mullaperiyar details’
Though the Kerala government has been demanding to provide Gate Operation Schedule of Mullaperiyar Dam since 2014, Tamil Nadu has not shared the details till date. Kerala had taken up the matter with the Central Water Commission and  Ministry of Water Resources several times. Though the Centre had issued specific directions, Tamil Nadu failed to comply with it, the report said. 

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