Kumily: Mullaperiyar, the dam that is considered to be the heartbeat of Kerala and the lifeline of many regions in Tamil Nadu and which has been in the middle of many debates and disputes between the two states, completes 125 years on Saturday.
The Periyar, that originates from Chokampetti on the Sivagiri Hills in Tamil Nadu, joins the Mullayar river near Manalar 48 km away to become the Mullaperiyar. The dam on this river was built at Vallakkadavu in the Peermade taluk of Idukki district. It was inaugurated on October 10, 1895.
A plan to harness the Mullaperiyar water to provide a solution to the Vaigai river in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai remaining dry for six months was first mooted in 1789.
The Mullaperiyar dam was designed by British engineer Captain John Pennycuick and R Smith in 1882. The talks with Travancore to build the dam began in 1884. Visakham Thirunal was the maharaja then. After the agreement with the Madras government was signed in 1886, the construction of the dam began in 1887.
The base of the dam was constructed using concrete fixed with 'surkhi' made of jaggery, sugarcane juice, egg white and lime.
Water from Thekkady to Tamil Nadu
The Thekkady lake was formed after the construction of the Mullaperiyar dam. Water is now transported from Thekkady to Tamil Nadu through a 2 km-long tunnel.
The water stored in the ponds and Vaigai dam is used for drinking, agriculture and power generation in Theni, Madurai, Dindigul, Ramnad and Sivaganga districts.
Dispute over agreement
A supplemental agreement signed in 1976 during the tenure of Chief Minister C Achutha Menon gave Tamil Nadu the right to generate electricity.
The dispute between the two states started in 1979 over leakage in the dam. The water level in the dam was the focal point of the dispute. On May 7, 2014, a five-member constitutional bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the water level should be raised to 142 feet.
Tamil Nadu reveres Pennycuick
The idea for the dam came from the Britisher Pennycuick. The work on the dam started with the funds allotted by the Madras government. But the government abandoned the project after rains often washed away constructions.
Pennycuick, however, completed the project after raising money by selling the properties in Britain that were in his and wife Grace Georgina’s names.
Pennycuick returned to Britain in 1903 and he died on March 9, 1911, at the age of 70. As a token of gratitude, the Tamil Nadu government has been announcing a public holiday on January 15, Pennycuick’s birthday.
