Save Mullaperiyar Save Lives
Solve the Threat to Millions from Mullaperiyar
Mullaperiyar
Mullaperiyar Dam is constructed over the headwaters of the Periyar River in Kerala, The Periyar National Park, Thekkady is located around the Periyar reservoir formed by the backwaters of this dam. It is operated by the Government of Tamil Nadu according to a 999-year lease agreement made during erstwhile British colonial rule.
The dilapidated Mullaperiyar dam is dangling like the sword of Damocles over the heads of millions of people living in the five districts of the State. To solve this threat State Government sought the urgent intervention of the Prime Minister in this matter. The only solution to this problem of a century and a decade old dam built up of stone and lime is to build a new dam using modern technology. The matter was presented by the Chief Minister before the conference of the MPs of the State at Thiruvananthapuram and requested them to put concerted pressure on the Centre to urgently accept the need for building a new dam.
Later, Water Resources Minister drew the attention of the press towards the condition of the dam as it was observed by the expert committee. They examined the dam when the water level was at the lowest level of 109 feet and found massive erosion of plastering made on the surface of the dam. Deep fissures have been formed inside the dam from one end to the other end, as a result of displacement of granite blocks. If this was the condition at the level of 109 feet it would be much more worse at still lower levels where the pressure of water is great. The dam will not be able to withstand even a small disturbance. The 14 pressure gauges set up by the Tamil Nadu Government are not functioning properly. The committee also called for mapping the dam at the lower levels by using under water camera.
Mullaperiyar Dam Issue
The Mullaperiyara Dam stand-off has received yet another jolt from Tamil Nadu threatening to withdraw from talks scheduled on Monday.
This decision comes following Kerala sending a team of naval experts to inspect the safety of the reservoir which it called back following central intervention. It has been reported that strong words have been exchanged in this regard between chief ministers M Karunanidhi and V S Achuthanandan who accused each other of indulging in provocative acts.
Irked, Karunanidhi has shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that Tamil Nadu would not be in a position to attend the talks with Achuthanandan in Delhi on Monday if Kerala continued to indulge in unfair and provocative acts.
Warning that his state would move to Supreme Court , Karunanidhi lambasted certain remarks made by Achuthanandan and politicians from Kerala, which, he said, were irresponsible and provocative.
Meanwhile, the Kerala government has asked the 19-member naval team to give up its mission following Centre's intervention in response to Tamil Nadu's objections. Kerala's Water Resources Minister Premachandran meanwhile has said that Kerala will continue to do all that is necessary to safeguard its interests in the issue, and that the government is keen to avoid provocative steps.
Achuthandandan stated that Karunanidhi's intervention is suspious. The reservoir stood on the land leased to Tamil Nadu by Kerala and that it did not require advance permission of the neighbour state to assess the dam's safety. Kerala is concerned about the safety of life and property of 3.5 million people in five districts.
3 comments:
Fright of people rises with Mullaperiyar water.
Sir,
One hundred and thirteen year old Mullaperiyar dam has undoubtedly become a matter of great havoc to people living on the banks of River Periyar. Not only the heavy rain water flow to the dam, heated exchange by the by the political heads of Kerala and TN has made the situation highly tense. People on the bank of river Periyar are panic. The permitted maximum water level of the reservoir is 136 feet and when it reached near that level, water started to flow to the Idukki reservoir through the spillway. As this was a rare phenomenon for past many years, people realized about the vast amount of water in the dam and that also made them more panic.
More interesting is the difference of opinion among TN Engineers and their Kerala counter parts. The Chief Engineer of the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department had inspected the dam and reached the conclusion that there was no leak in the dam and what he found out only is rain water flowing down through the gap in the joint. However, Kerala engineers keep a diverse opinion and pointed out that there were signs of water pushing out from beneath, and it is a serious matter according to them. As engineers are not politicians one wonders how these engineers reached at contradictory inference when they had studied the same syllabus for their engineering degree. Actually, the new leaks and the escalation of the old leaks could be very risky allowing for the age of the masonry dam built of surki, a technology available at the time of construction of the dam. The flaw of the dam is a matter of unending concern to people of Kerala as any danger to it could affect about 35 lakh people living in five districts of Kerala.
It is to be stressed that normal life time of any dam oratomic power plant is about 50 years. And in that case Mullaperiyar dam is a doubly expired one. So, the concern about safety of this dam is not mislaid. It should be abandoned on war-footing basis and new dam should be constructed. But Tamil Nadu is seen neglecting this aspect and not thinking about the dam safety. They are interested only with water they get from the dam and keeps scant regard to lives of 3.5 million people of Kerala.
So it is time for Karunanidhi and his colleagues to stand favorably for the construction of new dam as there are all chances for the breaking of existing one causing huge human causality. If dam breaks and that too due to the negligence of the leaders of both states no human endeavor could be able to repair the damage. So MK and VS, the two chief ministers of the states come together for an immediate discussion to reach a settlement over the Mullaperiyar imbroglio. TN should abandon its stance of strengthening of the dam. Instead the dam should be decommissioned first. Any disaster in the worst would certainly make political bosses of the states redundant and more worse is the loss of innocent human lives.
K A Solaman
Read: K A Solaman Blog
Solving Mullapperiyar issue
The Mullapperiyar dam has become a matter of life and death for TN and Kerala. The dam water is major source of income from agriculture for TN and hence it is a matter of life for them. On the other hand the dilapidated dam is a matter of death for Kerala. If the dam collapses many families will be washed away from a few districts of Kerala. However, the two State leaders have not yet reached a consensus in making an amicable solution. Instead some of the leaders like Vaiko make unwarranted statements.
In this context I invite the attention of Union Home Minister Chidambaram in to this issue. He may invite leaders of TN and Kerala for discussions to solve the ongoing entanglement in the right direction. The TN Chief Minister Karunanidhi and his counterpart V S Achuthanandan of Kerala cannot shy away from their responsibility to restore peace in the two states. And in this context it is imperative that the two leaders or their agents should behave responsibly to defuse the situation. Indulging in hate speech by outfit leaders like Vaiko should be checked. As the life and sustainability of the people of TN and Kerala are interlinked careful approach is needed in dealing with problems related to the two sates.
The two states have indeed suffered some damage by this time on Mullapperiyar issue and sincerely speaking it is the sensible approach by the two leaders that blocked further unseemly incidents. This attitude they can extend a little further to resolve the Mullapperiyar imbroglio. The parleying skill of P Chidambaram could do a lot to bring harmonious settlement on the long pending issue between TN and Kerala.
K A Solaman
Dam of contention
The Mullaperiyar dam stands for life as well as death for the people of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. On the one hand, its water is vital for irrigation, while on the other, several families live under the threat of being washed away in case the dilapidated dam collapses. However, the leaders of the two states are yet to reach a consensus on whether the level of water in the reservoir should be raised. Both states must try and resolve this issue amicably. The two chief ministers must not shy away from their responsibilities and participate in the talks.
K.A. Solaman
The Telegraph Daily, Calcutta Dated 9 Jan 2010
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