Sleepless nights for residents near Mullaperiyar dam

Release of water into the dam by Tamil Nadu, allegedly without adequate warnings, poses a risk of flooding houses, say locals

Hundreds of families of Vandiperiyar panchayat — near popular tourist spot of Thekkady in Idukki district of Kerala — are having sleepless nights over the past few weeks as Tamil Nadu authorities continue to release water from the Mullaperiyar dam during nights, allegedly without adequate alerts.

While many have started sleeping on higher floors or rooftops, some families are taking shelter at elevated spots by setting up temporary sheds.

The nightmare caused by the 2018 floods when water from the Mullaperiyar dam gushed into around 200 houses is still fresh in people's minds, locals said.

Repeated pleas of the Kerala government and a letter sent by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin seem to have yielded no results yet.

On Monday night, around 50 houses were flooded after nine shutters of the dam were opened, allegedly without adequate alerts. Families, many with kids and aged people, had to frantically move out of their houses at night.

Also Read — Kerala cries foul as Tamil Nadu opens Mullaperiyar dam shutters without notice

B George, a local ward member of the locality, told DH that the people have been going sleepless for nearly a month as the spillway shutters were opened on several nights without warning. The people are constantly keeping an eye on the river to see if the water level increases and are keeping their valuables ready to move out at a moment's notice.

Along with the floodwater, mud also enters the house and it is becoming increasingly strenuous to frequently clean the house after the water recedes, residents said.

Noushad PM, a ward member of Vandiperiyar panchayat, said that even as relief camps have been set up, people were not willing to move out permanently until the present rains were over.

Also, locals said that it was not easy to move out of their houses and that staying at relief camps poses a risk of Covid-19 spread as well.

The police, revenue authorities and rescue teams have been on constant vigilance to take swift actions in case of an emergency situation, Noshad said.

Meanwhile, the demand for decommissioning the 126-year-old dam, owing to safety concerns, was gaining momentum.

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