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Mullaperiyar Dam and Kerala Tourism

Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | No Comments.



The Mullaperiyar dam is one of the oldest dams used mainly for the purpose of irrigation. The dam was built by the British in 1985 for the irrigation purpose. The Dam resides in Kerala State. The dam is built on the Periyar River. The water from the dam is given to the Tamil Nadu state. The height of Mullaperiyar dam is 175 feet and its length is 5704 feet. The water is mainly used for irrigation purpose and for generating electricity by the Tamil Nadu government.

There are lots of tourism related activities near to Mullaperiyar dam. Mullaperiyar dam has withstood a lot of years after the dam expiry.   There have been controversies between Tamil Nadu and Kerala over Mullaperiyar dam for a while.Even though the dam resides in Kerala all the benefits like the water supply and electricity are taken by Tamil Nadu state. Tamil Nadu pays Kerala a very low rate for the water they are taking from the dam.

mullaperiyar damThe main concern of the Mullaperiyar dam as of today is the present condition of it. The dam is in worse condition. There are a lot of leakages on the dam. Water is flowing out through these orifices. So Kerala government has approached Tamil Nadu over the pathetic condition of the Dam. But very strangely, Tamil Nadu denies the fact that the dam is in bad condition. Kerala has approached Tamil Nadu for the construction of a new dam. Even though Kerala has offered to take full responsibility and expenses to build a new dam, Tamil Nadu government still refuses.

One of the credits that Tamil Nadu government is saying about is the lease between Tamil Nadu and British which permits Tamil Nadu to use the dam for 999 years. As the rule of the British Empire is ended and the dam has been surviving more that fifty years after its expiry, construction of a new dam need to be done immediately.

Tamil Nadu is not even willing to reduce the water level in the dam. The present water level in the dam is in a dangerous amount. The dam might collapse very immediately. Since the dam is located in a seismic zone, there are chances of continuous earthquakes. Recently an earthquake measuring four was recorded in the Richter scale. Since the dam is already deteriorated and damaged an earthquake might cause the dam to collapse in a matter of seconds.

If the dam collapses, five districts near to the dam will be affected. Three of the districts will be fully washed away. The Tamil Nadu government thinks that even if Dam collapse, they wouldn’t be affected anyway. But if the dam collapses, all the low lying areas nearby the dam will be totally devastated. Even though number of Kerala ministers has approached centre and the Tamil Nadu government, they deny the fact that dam is damaged.

Protests are forming out at different parts of Kerala over this issue. More than water for irrigation or a treaty that was made a century ago, perhaps humanity is important. Millions of people will be washed away if the Tamil Nadu government considers this as silly and think they are on the safe side. The construction of a new dam is vital for saving Kerala from a man made disaster.


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