Kerala for retaining Mullaperiyar storage level below 136 ft

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 19: Kerala Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran today made it clear that the state government's stand was that the storage level of the 111-year-old Mullaperiyar dam should not be raised above 136 ft under any circumstances.

In reply to questions, the Minister informed the state Assembly that the government wanted to ensure the safety of people living downstream of the dam in the wake of the recent earthquake as minor cracks were noticed in the plastering of the dam.

He said if something happened to the Mullaperiyar dam, people living in five districts of Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta would be affected. In 1980, a joint Kerala-Tamil Nadu technical team had inspected the area and proposed a site for the construction of new dam to replace the surki-structure.

Stating that the intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was sought to resolve the issue, he pointed out that several studies had concluded that the dam fell in an earthquake prone area.

In the aftermath of a minor earthquake recently, it was assessed that the quantity of seepage water from the dam had increased. The Centre for Earth Sciences Studies (CESS) had been asked to conduct further studies in the matter, he said.

It may be recalled that armed with a Supreme Court order, Tamil Nadu Government which oversees that the dam was going ahead with the move to raise its storage capacity so that it could draw more water from the reservoir.

In reply to another question, Mr Premachandran said the issue of renewing the Parambikulam-Aliyar Agreement with Tamil Nadu was under the active consideration of the government.

UNI