Banasura Sagar dam shutters to be opened on Sunday

A red alert has been issued to people living on the banks of the Karamanthodu River after the water level in the reservoir crossed 773.6 metres

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will raise the two spillway shutters of the Banasura Sagar dam at Padinjarethara in Wayanad district on Sunday afternoon following heavy inflow of water from the catchment areas.

A red alert has been issued to people living on the banks of the Karamanthodu River after the water level in the reservoir crossed 773.6 metres out of the full reservoir capacity of 775.6 metres.

The catchment areas have been witnessing heavy rain for the last three days, dam safety officials said. The shutters would be raised after 12. p.m. , the officials said.

“The rate of flow would be maintained at nearly 8.5 cubic metres per second [85,00 litres a second]”, the officials said adding that the excess water would be discharged through the Karamanthodu River to the Panamaram River, a tributary of the Kabani.

Meanwhile, the authorities have issued a flood warning to people residing in low-level areas along the banks of the Panamaram River.