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Kerala, Tamil Nadu to jointly inspect dam

Staff Reporter

Preliminary inspection shows nothing unnatural

KOTTAYAM: Members of the Kerala Dam Safety Authority who inspected the Mullaperiyar Dam, following tremors in the vicinity of the century-old structure, decided to have a 10-day joint inspection along with Tamil Nadu authorities.

Speaking to The Hindu , N. Sasi, authority member and chief engineer, said the team could not detect anything unnatural during the preliminary inspection on Sunday.

Technical data to be gathered during the next 10 days would have to examined and compared with previous data so that structural damage, if any, could be detected.

The team would submit a preliminary report to the Minister for Water Resources and the Chief Minister on Monday.

The issue would be discussed at a sitting of the authority on Tuesday. It was decided to ask all three parties involved in Sunday's inspection - the Water Resources Department, the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) and the Kerala State Electricity Board - prepare separate reports for further discussion.

The team, which arrived at the site by 4 p.m. via the Vandiperiyar-Vallakkadavu route, inspected the main dam, the foundation gallery, the spillway and the baby dam.

It also checked the rate of flow of seepage water from the gallery.

The team included K. Divakaran, chief Engineer, Inter-State Water Resources; Unnikrishnan, scientist, CESS; P.N. Biju, assistant executive engineer, KSEB; Radhamoni, superintending engineer, Water Resources Department; and other officials of the department.

Tamil Nadu team

The Tamil Nadu side was represented by V. Thirumalarayar, executive engineer, Public Works Department, and other senior officials.

The epicentre of Friday's tremor, which measured 2.1 on the Ritcher scale, was suspected to be 17 km away from the dam, whose security has been one of the major concerns of the Kerala Government.

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