Mullaperiyar Dam is constructed over the headwaters of the Periyar River river in Kerala, India. 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 name is derived from a portmanteau of Mullaiyar and Periyar. As the dam is located after the confluence of the Mullayar and Periyar Rivers, the river and hence the dam came to be called Mullaperiyar.

The Main purpose of building the Dam was to serve as a irrigation source for the some districts in TamilNadu. No One seems to have a question on that.

The Dispute started when the leaks started to show in 110 year old dam. The Dam is made of lime and surki which were the best of construction materials available over a century ago. But How long can a Dam built on lime and surki can survive that too on a earthquake prone area. The British Engineer Colonel John Pennycuick who build the dam Predicted only a life span of 50 years for the Dam.  Studies suggest a raise in the level of water will increase the water pressure and would end up i breakage of Dam walls. Studies conducted by IIT suggest the area where the dam is located is prone to earthquake as strong as 6.5 in ritcher scale. and the result would be a complete destruction of the dam built in lime and surki. The videos of leakage in the Dam had been out in the visual medias many times and it clearly suggest there are lot of weak points in the Dam.

what kerala Government want is very simple .. build a new dam and ensure the safety of 35 lakh people who might other wise be washed away if the Dam walls breaks. kerala Government also adds they will continue the supply of water to TamilNadu from the new dam. Here is an excerpt from the kerala governments official website …Tamil Nadu political leaders like Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi are saying Building the new dam will be against the interest of people of tamil nadu. The interest of Tamil Nadu in mullaperiyar Dam is to get Water and Kerala Promises the uninterrupted supply of water.
So is the interests of Tamil Nadu hurt in anyway???

The only interest that seems to be hurt is the interest of getting votes for the politicians in next election. The Tamil Nadu politicians doesn’t seem to be bothered of safety of Dam or safety of life’s of people of Kerala. They still say the dam made of lime and surki can last 999 years (even a kindergarten student may laugh at them for this argument) and they want the water level to be increased further on an already dangerous dam.

The following Video shows how weak and dangerous the dam really is even after all the polishing wok by the tamilnadu government.

If the dam bursts and people are killed then Murder case should be charged on the Chief Ministers of tamil Nadu who ruled the state from 1979 onwards.

More information can be found at
http://expert-eyes.org/mullaperiyar.html

A detailed work by Prof Shivaji Rao

A photo tour and some details on why mullaperiyar is dangerous

Image Courtesy Wikipedia

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