No river to receive water from Idukki!

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Kochi: The Idukki dam water will have trouble flowing down to the Lower Periyar if and when the shutters are opened because there is no river there now to carry the gushing torrent. 
And the most worried lot are encroachers who have made the 28-km stretch from the dam site to Lower Periyar  a thriving field for agriculture and commercial enterprises. They are   reportedly opposing the opening of the shutters to prevent damage to their possessions.
It was in 1992 that the shutters were opened last and since then rampant encroachment has been going on in the downstream area so that there  is now no clear path for the water to flow down.
According to environmentalists,  the authorities and political parties have been supporting the encroachers and a major reason for not opening the dam is to protect them.
“There are only little traces of river Periyar in the nine- km stretch from Cheruthoni to Karimban. Most of the area  has been converted as agriculture land. Even big hotels, resorts and multistoried buildings have been constructed on the river path. The panchayat bus stand is also located on the encroached area,” said John Peruvanthanam, environmental activist.
He added that an influential lobby was strongly objecting to opening of the dam shutters. “Since the lobby is a vote bank, political leaders are also supporting them,” he alleged.
Another environmentalist C.P Roy, who was the chairman of Mulla­periyar Agitation Council, said there was  no mechanism to check the rampant encroachment. “There is no  river in the downstream stretch and the  political leadership is supporting the encroachers,” he said.
However, Roshy Augustine MLA refuted the allegations and said that  dam safety was the key concern.  It was the state government’s decision to open the dam shutters when water level reaches 2,403 feet.
“All the 92 households  downstream have been put on high alert and they will be informed six hours before the shutters open. There is no deliberate attempt to delay the opening of shutters,” he told DC.  But he  agreed  that the river was encroached on by people for agricultural purposes.