Kerala keeps fingers crossed as orange alert issued in 12 districts

Many parts of the state still remain flooded and the water level in dams remaining high

With the Indian Meteorological Department forecasting heavy to very heavy rains and winds across the state on Wednesday and Thursday and sounding an orange alert in 12 of the 14 districts, Kerala is keeping fingers crossed.

Many parts of the state are still flooded and the water level in dams remains high.

On Tuesday, shutters of three more dams, including the Idukki dam, were partially opened, triggering an alert up to the suburbs of Kochi. Many parts of Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam remained flooded and search operations for two more persons at the landslide-hit areas were still progressing.

So far the death toll has reached 27.

Also read: 41 dead as heavy rains batter northern India

The shutters of Idukki dam located at Cheruthoni town were opened for the first time after 2018. It was after a gap of 26 years that the shutters were opened during the 2018 floods and it resulted in flooding in suburbs of Kochi, which is around 100 kilometres away, apart from causing massive destruction to Cheruthoni town. The poor dam management was alleged to be a reason that aggravated the 2018 floods.

For that reason opening of the shutters of the dam, which is the tallest arch dam in the country, has been done with utmost care and precaution this time. A red alert was sounded by Monday evening and people along the banks of the river were shifted. Three shutters were lifted in a phased manner from 11 am. Around one lakh litre of water was being released per second.

Also read: Kerala received 135% extra rain this month, says IMD

The water level of the dam reached 2398 feet by Tuesday morning and the plan is to retain it at 2395 feet as the IMD forecast another spell of rains from Wednesday. A large number of people also thronged at Cheruthoni to witness the water flow after the shutters were opened.

IMD sounded orange alert in 11 districts, except Kasargod, Alappuzha and Kollam for Wednesday and 12 districts, except Kannur and Kasargod, on Thursday.

Row over poor weather alert

The state government has raised concerns over inaccurate weather alerts from the IMD. Revenue Minister K Rajan said that only a green alert was issued by IMD in the calamity-hit Kottayam and Idukki districts for last Saturday.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress alleged that the state's disaster management systems were again proving to be inefficient.

Opposition leader V D Satheesan said that even as rough weather alerts were prevailing in the state from October 8, adequate measures were not taken. He also sought a probe into the matter. The issue is likely to rock the Kerala Assembly session on Wednesday.

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