SHILLONG, June 18: The floodgates of Umiam dam must be opened periodically to release the accumulated water and not in one go as it would affect the farming community residing downstream, according to Opposition chief whip and Umroi MLA George B Lyngdoh.
Requesting the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) to heed the issue, the All India Trinamool Congress MLA said, “With the incessant rain and Umiam river overflowing, we are expecting that the floodgates will be opened. My request to the MeECL is that the floodgates should be opened starting now and not wait for the dam to overflow”.
Lyngdoh feels if the thousands of litres of water are released in one go then the farmers will incur heavy losses.
In this context, he said it is only advisable that the floodgates are opened periodically and small quantity of water is let out slowly rather than doing it when the dam water rises and overflows.
The water levels of the Umiam dam is witnessing a constant increase since June 13 when it rose to 3.193.4 feet, 3,194.42 feet (June 14), 3,198.05 feet (June 15), 3,198.7 feet (June 16), 3,205.3 feet (June 17) and 3,208.53 feet (June 18).
The dam also received 52 mm of rainfall on June 17, the highest recorded this month.
