Mullaperiyar (Kerala): Officials from Tamil Nadu reached the Mullaperiyar dam site yesterday morning and started preparations for raising the water level to 142 feet.
The steps come after the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a Kerala assembly act that restricted the water level at the dam at 136 feet.
The Apex Court also shot down Kerala’s demand for a new dam. The court ruled it was safe, contrary to Kerala’s claims. Kerala said the 119-year-old dam was leaking and it was high time it be decommissioned.
The Supreme Court also directed a three-member committee be set up, headed by the Central Water Commission chairman and including a member each from the two states. The court added the dam’s water level will be increased under the committee’s supervision.
Yesterday morning, a high-level team of Tamil Nadu officials inspected the dam and also the 13 shutters, besides marking the 142 feet level, to which water can be stored. Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been at loggerheads over the Mullaperiyar dam, built under an 1886 accord between the then Maharaja of Travancore and the erstwhile British Raj.
IANS
