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Kerala has shifted 339 families as Tamil Nadu released water from the Mullaperiyar dam on Friday, 29 October. The dam, located in the Idukki district of the state, was opened at 7.29 am even as Kerala ministers maintained that preparations have been intact to ensure the safety of the people.
Tamil Nadu released 534 cusecs of water by lifting shutters three and four by about 35 cm each. As on Friday morning, the water level in the dam is at 138.70 feet.
The minister said, in a release, that Tamil Nadu will open the dam's shutters at 7 am on Friday and water will be released to maintain its level at 138 feet till October 31. The gates were opened around 7.30 am on Friday.
"Therefore, Idukki will be able to contain the water released from the Mullaperiyar,'' the minister said.
Meanwhile, state Revenue Minister K Rajan, while speaking to a news channel, said evacuation of people began from Thursday morning and was being carried out in three phases.
A maximum of 859 families comprising 3,320 members may have to be moved, he said and added that the government has made arrangements to accommodate them in camps.
Augustine, in the release, said that as the water level in the 24-km stretch from Mullaperiyar to Idukki is expected to rise by about 60 centimetre, a total of 1,079 people from 350 families who would be affected by the two-foot-high flood have been evacuated. All the preparations made during the opening of the Idukki dam have been taken ahead of the opening of the Mullaperiyar dam, he said.
Watch Visuals of the dam opening:
(With PTI Inputs)
(Published in arrangement with The News Minute)
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