Kochi: The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) authoritiesat Nedum-bassery are keeping their fingers crossed as water level at Idukki and Idalamalyar dams are going up.
The last time when the airport had to be closed due to floods was in 2013 when the adjoining Chengal Canal overflowed following opening of the shutters of the Idamalayar dam after heavy pounding by rains. Ever since this happened, CIAL undertook works to increase the depth of the Chengal Canal to increase the water -flow to the Periyar in the downstream and also reinforced the outer bunds of the canal and also the boundary wall of the airport, to prevent flooding of the airport.
However, a senior official of CIAL told Deccan Chronicle on Sunday that if shutters of Idamalayar dam and Idukki dam are opened simultaneously, then CIAL would not be able to escape flooding once again. “We understand the situation will deteriorate only if more rain happened in the catchment areas of the dams now on,” he said.
However, he added that regulated release of water from Idukki dam alone will not pose any problem to the airport. He said that in 2013, Upper Sholayar dam and four shutters of Idamalyar dam were opened in a day itself leading to the flooding then. Then first floors of flats in Aluva too were flooded.
“That time it was reverse flooding from Periyar through Chengal Canal due to higher water level in Periyar where the canal met it at downstream,” said the official.
The official added that a team of CIAL top level officials is monitoring the situation every two hours now and necessary equipment have already been moved to the first floor of its building and the rest is readied to be moved to safer places in case of any emergency situation.
