Kottayam: Two of the five shutters of Cheruthony dam were closed on Monday with the water level decreasing to 2,397 feet, said KSEB sources.
The district administration has decided to monitor the rainfall at night before further lowering the water level in the dam.
The first and fifth shutters of the Cheruthony dam were closed on Monday, whereas the other three shutters were lowered from 180 centimetres to 150centimetres thereby reducing the release of water to 450 cubic metre per second from 750 cubic metres per second
As part of a trial run, one shutter was opened on August 9 and four were lifted on August 10 releasing 750 cubic metres of water per second. As a result, the Cheruthony bridge, private bus stand and a few small shops in the town were submerged. Many families residing downstream and on both sides of Periyar river were evacuated.
District administration sources said the National Disaster Relief Force(NDRF), police and the fire force were ready to conduct rescue operations in case of any emergency.
A total of 1,430 people are living in 18 rehabilitation camps in the district. There are nine camps in Idukki taluk, eight in Devikulam and one in Udumbunchola taluk.
