Kerala is battling the deadliest flood in nearly a century as torrential rains continue to lash the southern state triggering landslides and leaving a trail of destruction in all its 14 districts.
Kochi airport, the fourth busiest in the country in terms of international passengers, was closed down till Saturday and flights were either cancelled or diverted to Thiruvananthapuram and Calicut airports. The state government decided to seek centre's permission to allow small aircraft to land at the Naval airport in Kochi.
The death toll in rain-related incidents since August 8 has mounted to 67 with 25 casualties reported on Wednesday alone. More than 1.5 lakh people have been lodged in relief camps across the state.
Most of the 44 rivers in the state are in spate with shutters of 35 dams, including the 123-year-old Mullaperiyar reservoir, lifted to push out the excess water.
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“The situation in the state is very serious,” said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who earlier spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh to seek central assistance. He said the heavy rains would continue for some more days, which is likely to worsen the situation further. The state government has sought the help of more teams of Army and National Disaster Response Force.
As the situation became grave, the state is staring at an acute drinking water shortage with most of the water treatment plants have been either damaged or flooded. Vijayan has asked people to limit the use of drinking water supplied by the Water Authority. Power supply and communication systems have also been disrupted at various places.
The incessant rains and ensuing landslides have disrupted rail and road traffic across the state. Traffic on all the major national and state highways crisscrossing the state came to a standstill on Wednesday. Rail traffic on the Kollam-Punalur-Sengottai section has been suspended.
A holiday has been declared for educational institutions in all districts barring Kasaragod on Thursday while colleges and universities have postponed exams. The first quarter exams of lower, upper and high school classes have also been postponed.
The tourist town of Munnar is virtually inundated after shutters of the Idukki, Mullaperiyar and Mattuppetty dams were opened.
'No need of worry on Mullaperiyar'
With the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam touching the maximum of 142 feet, Vijayan wrote to his Tamil Nadu counterpart K Palaniswami requesting him to bring down the level to 139 feet in view of the dam's safety.
Vijayan pointed out that the catchment areas of the the reservoir were receiving heavy rain.
Rajnath Singh informed Vijayan that based on the state's request, the Union home secretary spoke to the Tamil Nadu chief secretary on release of more water from the dam to bring down the level to 139 feet.
The dam, located in Idukki district of Kerala, is owned and operated by Tamil Nadu.
Water was released from the dam by 1:30 am this morning as the water level touched 142 feet and people staying in some villages have been relocated.
"There is no need for any anxiety with regard to Mullaperiyar dam, where the water level has touched 142 feet, the maximum as allowed by the Supreme Court, as the discharge is equivalent to the inflow," Vijayan told reporters.
With inputs from PTI