The Hindu : Front Page : Dam water level to be kept at 136 ft

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 05, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

Dam water level to be kept at 136 ft

Staff Reporter

Thiruvanchoor, Achuthanandan, MLAs visit Mullaperiyar reservoir site

TAKING STOCK OF THE SITUATION: Water Resources Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan and Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan at the Mullaperiyar dam site on Thursday. Photo: Johney Thomas

KOTTAYAM: Water Resources Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan has said that the State Government is committed to keeping the water level at the Mullaperiyar reservoir at 136 feet.

Mr. Radhakrishnan, who in an unprecedented move visited the dam site along with Leader of the Opposition V. S. Achuthanandan on Thursday, refused to enlarge on his statement since the Assembly is in session. The Minister said he would announce the Government's stand on the situation in the Assembly after consultation with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and the Leader of the Opposition.

Addressing a joint press conference with Mr. Achuthanandan at Kumily, Mr. Radhakrishnan said the Kerala Government had many times in the past asked the Tamil Nadu Government to clean up the mouth of the spillway which was filled with the debris of the 1993 granite quarrying, slit and weed. He along with the Chief Minister and the then Industries Minister P. K. Kunhalikutty had taken up the issue with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa a few months ago. She had assured them of taking action. However, the debris is still there. This is one of the core reasons for the rise in water level in the reservoir.

He said most of the dams had, in addition to signs to mark the maximum water level, `warning points' to signal any alarming increase in water level. However, at Mullaperiyar, there were no such signs and the Government would look into the possibility of putting up such signs. . One of the causes for the present situation was that the outflow from the reservoir through the spillway did not match the inflow to the dam, he said. Mr. Achuthanandan said: ``The present controversy had created an impression that they were trying to prove their argument - that the century-old structure is strong enough to hold water at a level higher than what the Kerala Government is insisting on." Earlier, the two leaders, accompanied by MLAs E. M. Augasthy, Roshy Augustine and Joseph M. Puthussery and senior officials of the departments of Water Resources and Forests, inspected the dam, the baby dam and the spillway.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News Update

Stories in this Section