Two Idukki dam sluices shut, water level down to 'safe'

Idukki (Kerala) : Two of the five sluices of the Idukki dam, opened after a gap of 26 years on Thursday, were ordered to be closed by the Kerala government on Monday after the water at the reservoir came down to the "safe" level.

Officials of the Kerala State Electricity Board, which manages the dam, briefed authorities that the water level at the dam now stood at 2,397 feet and hence the flow could be regulated.

The remaining floodgates will soon be lowered to 1.1 metres from 1.8 metres, officials said.

With this development, the flow of 7.50 lakh litres of water per second into the Periyar river will get reduced to three lakh litres.