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Dec 31, 2011 | From the print edition

Kerala is trapped by its promise to host Tamil Nadu’s Mullaperiyar dam for

a millennium

In the past month, the decades-old controversy surrounding the safety of

the century-old Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala reached fever pitch. People

living downstream fear it can collapse any moment. There have been

strikes, fasts, burning of vehicles, deployment of police forces, high-

pitched news presentations and even banning of a film, the title of which

candidly referred to the row. As protests mount and panic grips people, a

confidential survey report, which has been leaked to the media, says the

dam has been damaged to the extent that no amount of rectification can

salvage it from causing a disaster.

Kerala says it wants to build a new dam, decommissioning the ageing one.

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But Tamil Nadu, which is the sole beneficiary of the dam, insists that the

116-year-old dam is still robust. To sort out the feud, a Supreme Court-

appointed empowered committee is assessing the safety of the dam,

located in Idukki district, bordering Tamil Nadu. It is also studying Kerala’s

proposal for a new dam. The committee is expected to submit its report to

the apex court in February next year.

Kerala bears Tamil Nadu’s cross

The dam is on the Periyar River, which originates in the Western Ghats of

Kerala and flows across the state to join the Arabian Sea. It was built in

1895 by Madras State, now Tamil Nadu, under the British rule. The British

government had struck a lease agreement with the princely state of

Travancore, now part of Kerala, to lease around 3,500 hectares (ha) to

Madras and grant it all rights over the reservoir water for irrigation for 999

years. Since then, Tamil Nadu has been controlling and managing the

dam and diverting the reservoir water for irrigating its drought-prone

Madurai, Theni, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram and Dindigul districts.

Every year, on an average, the state diverts 606.83 million cubic metres of

water to irrigate around 70,000 ha. It also uses the water to produce 140

MW power.

The two states were cordial until 1979 when the dam developed cracks

and started leaking, raising doubts about its safety. The dam was over 80

years old then.

The Central Water Commission visited the dam and recommended

lowering the maximum water level in the reservoir to 41.45 metres and

carry out strengthening works. Tamil Nadu spent Rs 26 crore on

strengthening the dam by constructing a 10-metre-wide concrete backing

and on other safety repairs.

A V George, professor of geology and environment at Christ College in

Irinjalakkuda, says these repair and construction works have further

weakened the structure. Safety concerns heightened instead of dying

down.

Panic erupted in November after recurring tremors of the magnitude of up

to 3.8 on the Richter Scale hit the dam’s downstream areas; as many as

26 tremors have hit the region in the past eight months. The region also

received heavy rain. Water level in the reservoir crossed 136 feet (41.45

m), the permissible level fixed by the Kerala Dam Safety Authority.

Amid fears about an imminent dam collapse, Kerala urged Tamil Nadu to

reduce the water level to 120 feet (36.5 m). It refused and wanted to raise

the water level to 142 feet (43.28 m), as allowed by the apex court in

2006.

Ageing and vulnerable

The dam, 365.7 metres long and 53.6 metres high, is one of the oldest in

the world, well past the 50-year period during which most dams are

deemed safe.

Its walls are covered with rubble masonry to protect the core from high

water pressure. The core is built with hydraulic lime and surkhi, a mixture

of crushed bricks, sand and sugar. This makes it the only dam of its kind

in the world, making it difficult to assess the strength of the structure, says

the confidential report by M Sashidharan, former chief engineer with the

Kerala State Electricity Board. He was Kerala’s observer during a survey

of the dam early this year by the Centre for Soil and Materials Research

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Station, New Delhi. The institute scanned the dam using a remote

operated vehicle, which revealed the extent of deterioration the dam has

undergone. There are numerous pot holes, crevices and openings on the

surface of the dam. The masonry cover has been severely damaged

between the depth of 32 m and 29 m throughout the length of the dam.

Several studies have found similar flaws in the ageing dam. Mullaperiyar is

a traditional gravity dam, the strength of which depends on its weight.

George of Christ College says over the years, about 40 per cent of the

lime from the core has leaked out, making it much weaker. Cracks, leaks

and seepages have made the structure damp and wet, he adds.

Further, the dam falls in quake-prone area. Between December 2000 and

January 2001, the region was hit by tremors of magnitude of up to 5. The

Geological Survey of India places Kerala in Zone III, where quakes with

magnitude up to 6.5 can happen. A study by the Centre For Earth

Sciences at Thiruvananthapuram, in 2001, and a 2009 report submitted to

the Kerala government by IIT- Roorkee say the dam cannot withstand

quakes of magnitude of six and above. IIT-Roorkee researchers found 22

active faults in the area surrounding the dam. Besides, if one considers

the maximum rainfall the region receives, the dam is hydrologically unsafe,

says A K Gosain, professor at IIT-Delhi, who has studied the dam for its

safety concerns.

What if the dam collapses?

Will 3.5 million people in five central Kerala districts be affected as the

Kerala government claims? What could be the course of flash floods?

No one knows correctly, not even Kerala. It has not done a dam break

analysis or potential loss mapping, even after establishing a dam safety

authority and Mullaperiyar Special Cell in 2006. Only after panic mounted

last month, that it asked IIT-Roorkee on November 30 to conduct a dam

break analysis and submit the report within six months.

Analysts say a huge disaster can occur if the dam bursts.

There are four gram panchayats and a few small towns like Vanditeperiyar

between Mullaperiyar dam and Idukki dam, Asia’s biggest arch dam, 36 km

down the Periyar. James Wilson, an engineer with the Kerala State

Electricity Board and member of Mullaperiyar Special Cell, says if the dam

bursts, the flash flood will reach Idukki reservoir within 45 minutes,

washing away parts of these villages and towns between these dams and

affecting about 70,000 people living there.

The Idukki dam has a storage capacity of 2,000 million cubic metres

(MCM) and can hold the flood water from Mullaperiyar dam, but not if its

water level is high. On four previous occasions, the water of both the

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reservoirs have been full to the brim. The situation would be disastrous if

the Mullaperiyar dam fails during the monsoon. “Considering the steep

topography of the region and the elevated position of the dam, the Rs

velocity of the flash flood will be very high,” says Wilson. The high-velocity

flash flood would bring down much soil and floating debris, which can clog

spillways and exert considerable pressure on the Idukki dam and two

adjacent dams, which together form the Idukki reservoir. If they fail to

contain the water load, all the nine dams downstream across the Periyar

will get breached and the flash flood will run through four central Kerala

districts and the port city of Kochi, affecting over three million people,

before it merges with the Arabian Sea, he adds.

“The government is extremely worried about the safety of its people,” says

Kerala’s water resources minister P J Joseph. “We want a new dam for

ensuring the security of our people as well as facilitating continued water

supply to Tamil Nadu as it is being given now.” The Kerala legislative

assembly passed a resolution in July 2009 for the construction of a new

dam at an estimated cost of Rs 600 crore. The state’s stand is “safety for

Kerala, and water for Tamil Nadu”.

But Tamil Nadu is not ready to buy this argument. It very well knows if a

new dam is built, it will have to sign a new agreement. And in that case,

the state will lose the custodianship of the dam and the 3,400 ha on which

the project stands. It is apprehensive that the new dam will no longer be

operated and managed by their engineers. Further, the state might have

to pay Kerala a reasonably good sum for water and the power it produces

using Kerala’s water.

Kerala could have opted out of the original agreement of 1886 during the

reorganisation of the states in 1956. It did not. Instead, it entered into two

supplementary agreements with Tamil Nadu in 1970. The first one helped

it acquire fishing rights in the dam and the second allowed it to revise the

lease rent from Rs 5 to Rs 30 an acre (0.4 ha) and revise the lease

amount once in 30 years. The agreements allowed Tamil Nadu to

generate electricity using the diverted waters, which was not there in the

original agreement. Tamil Nadu now pays just Rs 8.9 lakh a year as lease

amount for the land and the royalty for power.

The renewal of the 1886 agreement for 999 years, whether an act of

magnanimity or a blunder, is now a potential worry for Kerala. Over the

years, Kerala’s water needs have increased and it is incurring big losses

by diverting the Mullaperiyar water to Tamil Nadu. Its Idukki hydel project

generates 41.64 million units, worth around Rs 50 crore. By saving the

water it diverts to Tamil Nadu every year, Kerala can easily generate

power worth Rs 1,000 crore. Kerala, however, has submitted an

undertaking to the Centre that it would continue to provide water to Tamil

Nadu as is being given now, if a new dam is constructed.

But dams are not for ever

Dam as a permanent structure is a false conception. Bharat Jhunjhunwala,

an economist who has researched the dismantling of dams in the US, says

decommissioning of a dam has serveral consequences. So the cost of

decommissioning and, in cases like Kerala, building new dams and the

new site required to dump the debris must be factored in the impact

assessment at the time of commissioning a dam. But this does not happen

in India, he adds.

If Kerala’s slogan, “safety for Kerala, water for Tamil Nadu” is sincere, why

Tamil Nadu insists the century-old Mullaperiyar dam is still robust (Photo: K K Najeeb)

Dear Bro,

It is clearly understandable neither of the state can

be successful without each other. Safety is the

necessary need which has been understood by all.

17 December 2011

Posted by

Neechalkaran

should it build another dam spending its own funds, that too, in an

ecologically sensitive, tremor-prone region? The new dam will submerge

50.5 ha of Periyar wildlife sanctuary.

Kerala should not take the responsibility of storing water for its

neighbouring state, putting in danger thousands of lives on its own turf,

says A Latha of the River Research Centre at Chalakudy, Kerala.

A possible sustainable option could be immediate reduction in storage

level at the dam so as to reduce water pressure on the weak structure.

The level can be reduced to 36.5 metres initially as requested by Kerala

and then to 33.5 metres. Simultaneously, Kerala can consider the

possibility of constructing check dams instead of a new dam and Tamil

Nadu can build more tanks to increase its storage facility. This will provide

better water security to Tamil Nadu farmers. Those in command area of

each tank will be aware of the quantum of water available to them and can

plan farming accordingly, she adds.

K J Joy of The Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India says

a study should be done to asses the water needs to the service area and

the long term averages of water use. Once it is done, water from the

Mullaperiyar reservoir can be diverted to Tamil Nadu during the monsoon

and stored in the existing or new storage facilities there, he says.

Whether there should be a new dam or the existing dam is safe to store

water for some more time can then be dispassionately assessed by

independent experts, Joy suggests.

Tags: New s, Central Water Commission (CWC), Conflicts, Dam Safety, Dams/ Irrigation,

Earthquakes, Floods, Idukki, Idukki Dam, kerala, Mullaperiyar dam, Periyar, Reservoirs, Supreme

Court, Tamil Nadu

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reply

Please watch the below video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=eXti8xblCLM&feature=related

New Dam can't be constructed with benefit of both

the states

reply

Hi

It is interesting to note that idukki dam is built for

PGA of 0.025 so if you take IIT Roorkee report

and assume that Earthquake occurs at Thekadi-

Kodaivannalur Fault, then idduki dam will be

located at 16+50 =66KM. So if we use the IIT

Report formula, we find that the PGA generated

at 66KM when Earthquake is 5.5 Richter will be

0.0259. In short it means while idukki dam will fail

when Earthquake of 5.5 occurs, Mullaperiyar

dam will stay!

19 January 2012

Posted by

selva_rajan

reply

Tamil Nadu is a state, which unfortunately has to

depend on its neighboring states for water. Already

the Cauvery delta farmers got affected due to

untimely release of water, forcing the farmers for a

single season cultivation.

There is no reason to believe that Kerala will keep

up its promise of supplying water to TN through the

proposed new dam.

India as a single nation has to be unbiased in its

approach. Nationalization of rivers and dams is the

only solution ahead.

The article is biased in representing only the views

of Kerala and not of the counter arguments placed

by Tamil Nadu. Every coin as both sides The pros

and cons should be analyzed without coming to a

hasty judgement

17 December 2011

Posted by

Ramesh

reply

Kerala has been divinely following an unusual

agreement with TN and giving water to it. It didn't

even ask to cancel the agreement during the

state reformations.

18 December 2011

Posted by

Anees

First let me quote a relevant portion of a mail

received from IIT Roorkee.

“The development of tensile stresses at heal under

MCE condition for normal reservoir level suggest

the tensile stresses exceeding the ultimate tensile

stress of Random Rubble Masonry will show up

damage and not failure. Damage do not mean

20 December 2011

Posted by

VK Bhavadasan

failure of dam but may lead to failure in certain

cases. The technical report submitted to Kerala

Government nowhere mentions of failure of dam.”

Design:

IIT Roorkee has run a finite element analysis to

check the stability. They consider an EQ of

magnitude more than 6 in Richter scale, Peak

Ground Acceleration (PGA) 0.21g for 2%

exceedance in 50 years. They vaguely state that

“there has been many EQ of magnitude 6 in the

past in the region”.

It is not sure what compressive stress and tensile

stress they considered for checking the design.

Even though they state that they have not

anticipated failure and only cracks, I have

apprehension about the analysis.

The gravity method of design assumes that that the

dam is a two dimensional rigid block. The

foundation pressure distribution is assumed to be

linear. It is generally prudent to perform a gravity

analysis before doing more rigorous studies and

analysis. In most cases if a gravity analysis

indicates that the dam is stable, then no further

analysis is needed to be done.

“It is important to realise that the question before

the reviewer is whether or not the dam will fail under

a given loading condition. In the review of finite

element analysis, it is easy to loose site of the

original question in view of the voluminous stress

output that typically results. The reviewer should

never forget that the stress at a point in the dam

may or may not informative with respect to whether

or not the dam will fail. Unlike the conventional

gravity techniques which pre-suppose failure

mechanisms, namely sliding, and overturning, the

standard liner elastic finite element method does

not address failure mechanism. It is up to the

reviewer to determine the value of the analysis

based on how it addresses the possibility of failure

mechanism.” While doing finite element analysis

stresses are to be taken as per formula defined by

‘Raphael 1984’ to the best of my knowledge. Also

different codes permit 33 to 50 % overstressing

during EQ. Not known if IIT has considered the

same. (Ref: Gravity Dam Design US Army Corps of

Engineers EM 1110-2-2200)

Considering the facts, why IIT Roorkee straight

away resorted to finite element method?

The height of the gravity dam is 54 mts and has a

base width of 42 mts. If the base width is 2/3 times

height, the resultant force passes through middle

third and the structure has to be safe with worst

combination of loads including seismic load. For

Mullaperiyar the base width provided is 80% of

height.

A retaining structure is checked for safety against

(1) Sliding (2) Overturning (3) Foundation

settlement. There is a factor of safety assigned to

each, varying from 2 to 3, the designer prefer to

choose depending up on the reliability of data. Had

the dam be unsafe in any of the 3 stability factors, It

would have collapsed much earlier. It has withstood

one of the worst floods in 1924 and later floods of

less severity. (Perhaps the dam prevented flood

damage then). A person making the prediction of

failure should spell which type of failure is

anticipated. If it is due to overturning, where the

resultant falls. It should be kept in mind that the FS

can be equal to unity during EQ.

Materials – Lime concrete / mortar:

Who said Hydraulic lime is a bad construction

material? The setting time is more then the OPC.

But it can be used on-site just as efficiently as

modern cement. Shrinkage cracks in mortar are

virtually eliminated due to its hydraulic setting

characteristics. This also helps to protect the

masonry; there is less risk of salt and frost damage.

It has a low modulus of elasticity. This means it is

extremely flexible and allows for movement and

thermal expansion. On the contrary RCC and

cement mortar produce hair line cracks due to

plastic shrinkage from day one it is poured. The

temperature variation produce more cracks by

passing of time.

Earthquake:

IIT Roorkee states that there had been many

earthquakes above Richter scale 6 in the area.

Does anyone expect an earthquake of that

magnitude in zone 3? One should quote the code or

authority for assuming and considering high value

of PGA, seismic coefficient or intensity of EQ. Has

Kerala ever experienced any severe EQ in history?

List of significant EQ in India from 1819 to 2005 is

given at: http://imdtvm.gov.in/index.php?

option=com_wrapper&Itemid=63

No earthquake of magnitude 6 in Richter scale is

ever recorded by IMD, who is the authorised

agency. As per a report (authenticity unknown) an

earthquake measuring Mw -4.6 (approximated to

5.4 in Richter scale) was felt for close to 27 seconds

in parts of the states of Kerala and Tamilnadu in

2001. It is not the number of earthquake that

matters, It is the intensity that matters.

In zone 3, even if an EQ measuring 5.0–5.9

happens (Moderate) it can cause damage to poorly

constructed buildings over small regions slight

damage to well-designed buildings. But it cannot

destroy a dam.

“Earthquakes can certainly cause damage to dams

but complete failure of a large dam due to

earthquake damage appears to be very rare.” Else

where in India there are bigger dam in worse EQ

zones do you expect a total collapse of all?

China, for example, has thousands of dams in

earthquake areas; none has collapsed in recent

years from earthquake damage.

In USA there are 75000 dams small and big. They

are in worse EQ zones.

When the EQ happened in Richter scale 7.7 many

thousand building were damaged but no dam had

even the slightest damage including one very near

epicentre in Kutchch. After the 2011 earthquake off

the Pacific coast of Tohoku, Japan with a magnitude

9.0 (Mw), 252 dams were inspected and it was

discovered that six embankment dams had shallow

cracks on their crests. The reservoir at one

concrete gravity dam suffered a small non-serious

slope failure. All damaged dams are functioning with

no problems.

How many dams in the world have collapsed due to

EQ. Thirty three percent (33%) of failure of dams

around the world is due to overflowing, 35% failure

is due to foundation failure and less than 6% failure

due to other reasons. EQ as a direct reason is rare

if not nil. (Please do not quote St. Francis dam. The

reason of failure is different).

Machu Dam:

It is ridiculous to compare Machu earth dam with at

Mullaperiyar gravity dam. An earth bund dam can

never with withstand a flood which causes overflow

over the earthen bund. An unprecedented rain fall

coupled with a manual error of not timely opening

the sluice gate was the cause breach. Mullaperiyar

has not over flown even in the worst flood in 1924.

Life of Structures:

Life of a RCC building or bridge is considered as 50

years and that of a steel structure like bridge is

fixed as 100 years. This is taking in to consideration

of corrosion of steel, corresponding expansion &

pealing of cover and exposure of steel and loosing

of tensile strength and metal fatigue. (When the life

of a building is 50 years does anybody think, the life

of an old temple structure, Red Fort or Kutab Minar

life is expired?? !!)

The oldest man made dam is constructed in 6th

century. There are more than 250 gravity dams in

Britain. Masonry was used in many early dams, as

far back as the 17th Century. Concrete became

more common from about 1900 only.

“Earthquakes can certainly cause damage to dams

but complete failure of a large dam due to

earthquake damage appears to be very rare.”

“Dams are likely to exist, perhaps for hundreds of

years, even after they are no longer required for

their original purpose.”

So gentlemen, all these present controversy is due

to lay-man’s apprehension and some self styled

expert who wanted to see their name printed or

quoted.

(I was in Gujarat when the Machu dam breached

reply

and the worst earthquake occurred. I have both site

experience and design experience for quite some

period.)

Regards,

VK Bhavadasan.

(Retd. Chief Engineer Civil, Gujarat Maritime Board,

Gujarat)

reply

Its really an informative and fact full post I have

ever read about the Dam issue. This should be

made known to the people who cause all kind of

nonsensical problems to the common man and

properties. We should think and act on the fact

not by the vote and race banking politicians.

21 December 2011

Posted by

Manoj

reply

thank you sir, am now clear about this issue,

people pleaseeeeeeeeeeee read it and educate

others abt dis issue,

25 December 2011

Posted by

kumaresan

reply

QUOTE:

“Mr. James Wilson, an engineer with the Kerala

State Electricity Board and member of Mullaperiyar

Special Cell, says if the dam bursts, the flash flood

will reach Idukki reservoir within 45 minutes.”

UNQUOTE:

It is a subject coming under Open Channel

Hydraulics. Before making a vague statement, he

should have known what is hydraulic head / velocity

head, what is velocity, what is cross sectional area /

what is wetted perimeter at selected intervals, what

is rugosity coeft. A complete contour map of the

area including a sounding chart of Iduki lake is

required. Does he have all the details and

calculated open channel flow using Kutter’s formula

or Manning’s formula ?

VK Bhavadasan.

(Retd.Chief Engineer (Civil), Gujarat Maritime

Board, Gujarat.

20 December 2011

Posted by

VK Bhavadasan

The leading sentence: "Kerala is trapped by its

promise to host Tamil Nadu’s Mullaperiyar dam for a

millennium" is misleading. its not TN's dam. it is

Kerala's dam. Kerala is not hosting it, rather own it.

Kerala is giving water to TN and that is what the

agreement is.

An independent study (apart from IIT Roorkee's)

need to be conducted with the modern scientific

21 December 2011

Posted by

Avanish

reply

techniques and international peer review to find an

answer to the question and to alleviate the fears. it

should not be an emotional or political issue. it

should not add to the list of 'water war' stories.

reply

It is sad that only Kerala state's view is presented..

http://player.vimeo.com/video/18283950?

autoplay=1

watch out this documentary developed by TN PWD..

Though the water from dam is used in TN, most of

agriculture/diary/poultry raised using that water

feeds (yes, feeds) Kerala every day..

because of local issue in Kerala (bye election in

Feb) that decides the fate of govt, issue is blowing

up..

22 December 2011

Posted by

Sivagnanam

Kerala never been accepted their problems, just

shifting their problem to others, even Mullaai periyar

Lake gets another new dam the real problem can’t

be solved and Keralites one day they'll realize and

U turn against their government and Idukki dam, the

reason is simple after constructing the Idukki dam

they are getting more earth quakes at nearby area,

and these 550 ft high water leveled dam once

constructed check before and after construction,

how many earth quakes are recorded in these area,

but Mullaiperiyar is far away from the most of the

epicenter of earth quakes. And 1985 onward

linguistic minority Tamil schools are slowly stopped

at Idukki dt, , and terminated many of Tamil

teachers they are worked more than 10 years but

they worked like a bonded labour in a year 11

month and extended another 11 months like, and

against Tamils they used “10 paisa land auctions”

for their land all of the sudden most of the land

owners are landless saying various reasons, most

of them they contested in the court to get back their

lands but simply solves the same problem by

Keralites by mean of money and officials are

allowed to do very simply procedures but not in this

case of Tamils , in Kerala around 70% of the

electricity produced from Idukki dt, but Idukki district

mostly populated by Tamils they are neglected

electricity and road, I known one of them he applied

electricity very first time at 1985 but he get only

2010, that too “Kerala electric Board” peoples

unload posts, wires and materials somewhere but

peoples are find and transported at their rugged

road by JEEP or by lifting all on the hills area (road?

Don’t ask about road) and post fixing, cable pulling

24 December 2011

Posted by

almash

reply

ad other jobs are done by peoples only never do by

any of the officials, everything privately they have to

do and pay, by the way few years back only power

reaches to few, except 40% of the peoples still they

are queue at “Ration shop “ to get 2 Liters of

Kerosene for lighting , but many of them enjoying

produced power to all over Kerala, in this case of

road mostly roads are made by peoples only, but

Panchayat may be allocate fund every year, but

never completes except few , we can say lot of

truths, remains’ will come soon.

reply

I didnt expect these sort of unscientific report from

Down To earth... IIT roorke is a partisan report, it

doesn't had any bipartisan approval. The IIT roorke

reports cant stand infront of any legal syste, Ok

Lets ask weather IIT roorke people could publish

their content in any national peer reviewed journal if

not international journal...

Down To Earth please publish the stories with two

sides perspective. Don't publish stories from one

state alone. Please don't fall prey to M-Factored

people thereby don't loose the respect for your

journal please.

28 December 2011

Posted by

Vivek Babu

Let us not bring extraneous things into this

controversy. The question is water for tamilnadu of

requisite quantity and safety for keralites. As one in

engineering, software is used ito simulate conditions

of high wind and earth quake in construction of

electric high tension transmission towers in UAE.

Was anything like that done for idukki? Idukki is a

curved dam flanked by Kuravan and Kurathi malai.

The epicentre of quakes have been in the arabian

sea or indian ocean.

The ripples of ground waves of quake is resisted by

the soil formations at such depths as kilometres.

Idukki at lower MSL is susceptible to strong ground

waves than the mullaiperiyar dam. Tsunami waves

travelled from Indonesia to indian shores only

because it is a surface travel of high winds and

water is lifted by winds and that is not the case with

resistive ground for quake waves. The "enlightened

and knowledgeable" engineering brains of Kerala

only advised for legislation of safe water height as

136 feet which is now wanted to be reduced to 120

feet. It looks like the outbursts of a drunkard. It is

stated that quakes at richter scale 6 have occurred

but the dam withstood it. Kerala politicians are

spreading misinformtion as though they have a

genie that will construct a dam the minute it is

commanded. It is part of silent valley where dam or

29 December 2011

Posted by

adithyan

reply

water storage or hydro electric projects are

prohibited. The proposed dam should be at lower

level than mullai periyar. When Idukki and

Mullaiperiyar are susceptible to quakes, will not the

new dam be? It has to be on high foundation for

which deep piles are to be erected which is a time

consuming process. Further, during monsoon which

is from June to Dec, no work is possible at the site.

The shock waves for pile foundations themselves

may be sufficient to cause failure of both idukki and

mullaiperiyar dams. What about a quake of richter

scale 6.0 when the new dam is half way? will it not

collapse and cause rebuilding? Politicians are

exploiting the emotions and induced fears of public.

The best way should be to retain the water level at

136 feet as per legislation by evacuating the excess

water towards vaigai dam. In the thousands of years

of flow, water would have formed natural stream

ways to Idukki side which may be maintained for

emergency discharge. The precautionary measures

against disasters will cost much much less than the

cost of a new dam which will damage the ecology

which nature has built over thousands of years. It

will be in the interest of Tamilnadu to construct

dams on its side to relieve the feared stress on

mullai periyar. A FRESH DAM IS CERTAINLY NOT

THE SOLUTION. IT IS A GIMMICK PLAYED BY

KERALA POLITICIANS WHICH HAS ROUSED THE

ANTI KERALITE FEELINGS IN TAMILNADU

VIOLENTLY AND HAS IMPERILLED THE LIFE AND

LIVELIHOOD OF PEACEFULLY LIVING KERALITES

IN TAMILNADU. Kerala has less space for

agriculture and needs less water. A survey will tell

that lack of check dams has deprived the vlllages of

water in the wells as also the sand mining. At

national level, a scheme should be planned for

diverting the discharges into the sea to tamilnadu

for useful agriculture. Framers of constitution would

not have dreamt that the future generations would

be fighting like the street dogs for the left over food

for sharing the natural resources. Thank God,

nature provided Air, fire and sky every where or

else Kerala politicians will be claiming the pound of

flesh. In these conditions, some idiots are talking

about Ganga kaveri linkage. Hell with it.

Thanks to Mr. Bhavadasan and it is a moral duty of

engineers all over india to protect the good

structure such as mullaiperiyar dam by analysing

engineering point of view not politically.mullaiperiyar

is a beauty of engineering .never ever a

responsible engineer would break a good structure

which was constructed by a another engineer.

over and over time , experts have confirmed the

8 January 2012

Posted by

Indian

reply

dam is safe.since kerala reduced the dam height in

the name of safety by false propaganda, not only

tamil nadu,india too is losing productivity.More

production of food items would help reserve bank of

india to control inflation.

also kerala too has been benefiting form the dam

such as fishing in the dam, food security& food

supply from mp dam,the whole thekkedy is being

developed because of mp dam.can kerala deny this

fact.kerala is getting income from tourism. mp is

acting as flood control structures too.tn is also

responsible for kerala people safety.without strong

facts tn would not say , mp dam is safe. tn is too

accountable for kerala safety.

before constructing idduki dam ,the whole

downstream is protected by mp dam.can kerala

deny this.without spending even a penny, kerala too

has been getting benefits although they did not

manufacture/produce water.water is coing from the

nature, unfortunately the 70% of catchment area in

kerala as per water atlas 1995 which was too

prepared by kerala(remaining in TN).if the MP dam

&iddukky(kamaraj giffted mp ,idduky to kerala) had

been annexed to Tn during state reorganization

time, tn would have produced 50,000 crore of food

item by maintaining the dam height 152 ft from 1979

to till date.so india too lost.

mp was constructed by madras govt with great will

power.it will not collapse due to its sound design as

explained by engineer Bhavadasan.

there is an hidden agenda behind this story. kerala

wants to control the dam although they did not

construct the mp dam.british and tamils put their

effort to construct this mp irrespective of harsh

climatic conditions and with limited facilities that too

a century ago.

if any newtral expert/engineer check the mp dam

and its uses would conclude it is a mega success

project with multible uses for both tn and kerala and

ultimately to india.its like a historical monument.

by

Indian

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