Home / World / English News / SC orders Tamil Nadu to maintain water level in Mullaperiyar Dam after Kerala blames it for floods

SC orders Tamil Nadu to maintain water level in Mullaperiyar Dam after Kerala blames it for floods

SC orders Tamil Nadu to maintain water level in Mullaperiyar Dam after Kerala blames it for floods

The development comes a day after Kerala government held Tamil Nadu responsible for the Kerala flood.
Thiruvananthapuram: In the wake of the devastating Kerala floods, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered to maintain the water level in Tamil Nadu’s Mullaperiyar Dam. The water level should be at 139.99 feet till August 31, said the apex court.
The current water level in Mullaperiyar Dam is 139.998 ft.
The top court clarified that it will not treat the matter as a dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, however, its only concern is human life. The next hearing of the case has been scheduled for September 6.
Reacting to the matter, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palainasamy said, “Kerala’s accusations towards Tamil Nadu are false and baseless. If you say, excess water was discharged from one dam (Mullaperiyar) then how did water reach all parts of Kerala? The excess discharge of water from 80 dams caused floods in Kerala.”
“Water from Mullaperiyar Dam was released one week after the floods struck Kerala. It was not done immediately after the floods. Three warnings were issued, first at 139 feet, second at 141 feet and third warning at 142 feet. Water was released in a phased manner,” Palainasamy added.
The development comes a day after Kerala government held Tamil Nadu responsible for the Kerala flood. Kerala told the SC that the sudden release of water from the Mullaperiyar Dam by the Tamil Nadu government was one of the reasons for the devastating deluge in the state.
A disaster management sub-committee to monitor the water level of Mullaperiyar Dam had on Thursday asked Tamil Nadu to keep water limit of the reservoir 2-3 feet below the 142-feet FRL mark till August 31, a senior official in the Water Resources Ministry said.
The committee comprising officials from the Centre, including the Water Resources Ministry, Kerala and Tamil Nadu reviewed the water level of the reservoir.
Last week, the Supreme Court also took a note of the ‘grave’ flood situation in Kerala and ordered the disaster management panel of the Mullaperiyar Dam to urgently decide on lowering the water level by three feet.
The direction to the disaster management sub-committee to reduce the water level up to 139 feet from the existing 142 feet came in the backdrop of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan writing to his Tamil Nadu counterpart E K Palaniswami seeking to lower the water level in the Mullaperiyar Dam in the interest of its safety.

Check Also

Blue Jays open 2024 MLB season against Rays

By Staff The Canadian Press Posted March 28, 2024 6:00 am 1 min read Descrease …