Water level in Mullaperiyar dam touches 142 feet: TN Govt

The water level in Mullaperiyar dam touched 142 feet on Tuesday and the storage is in line with the norms set forth by the Central Water Commission, the Tamil Nadu government said.

The water level reached 142 feet at 3.55 AM, and 1,682.46 cusecs of water was released from the dam gradually, Tamil Nadu authorities in charge of dam operations said. It was done after issuing three advance alerts to counterparts in Kerala, they added.

Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan said the water level, stored up to 142 feet on the morning of November 30, is in conformity with the CWC's Rule Curve norm. Following the Supreme Court's order of May 7, 2014 which said that water could be stored upto 142 feet, the Mullaperiyar dam's storage has touched 142 feet for the fourth time on Tuesday, he said in a statement.

The Rule Curve is about pre-determination of storage in the dam and its regulation as per a month-wise storage chart. Considering monsoon rains and inflow of flood waters, the RC covers storage and regulation (water release) aspects, he added.

As per this norm, the storage for every 10 days is determined from June 10 to November 30 during the monsoon season. Hence, as per the CWC approved RC standards, water was stored up to 142 feet on November 30 morning, the Minister said.

On days when the dam receives excessive inflows, water is discharged as per the Standard Operating Procedure only after duly informing the Kerala authorities well in advance, he noted.

As per the apex court order, the storage can be increased to 152 feet after completion of pending strengthening work.

''Though there are some hurdles in doing it, all efforts and steps will be taken continuously to complete the tasks, in consultation with Chief Minister M K Stalin,'' the minister said.

In Kerala, the pronunciation used is 'Mullaperiyar' and in Tamil Nadu it is 'Mullaiperiyar.' The dam is in Kerala's Idukki District.

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