Mullaperiyar Dam safety inspection first phase completed; Kerala, TN to meet committee today
The Mullaperiyar Dam safety assessment's first phase concluded Tuesday, with a report due in two weeks. Further inspections will be decided Wednesday, following a Supreme Court directive.
The Mullaperiyar Dam safety assessment's first phase concluded Tuesday, with a report due in two weeks. Further inspections will be decided Wednesday, following a Supreme Court directive.
The Mullaperiyar Dam safety assessment's first phase concluded Tuesday, with a report due in two weeks. Further inspections will be decided Wednesday, following a Supreme Court directive.
The Comprehensive Safety Assessment Committee constituted to conduct a safety inspection of the Mullaperiyar Dam completed the first phase of its assessment on Tuesday. The committee is expected to submit its report to the National Dam Safety Authority within two weeks.
According to committee chairman Balraj Joshi, the team will decide whether further inspections are required at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, which will be attended by representatives from both Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The inspection follows a 2022 Supreme Court directive for a fresh comprehensive safety assessment of Mullaperiyar Dam, based on a case filed by Kothamangalam native Jo Joseph. The committee will prepare a detailed technical report on the overall safety status of the dam.
The team inspected the main dam, gallery and baby dam on Tuesday, checking for cracks, fractures, soil erosion and general wear and tear in the structures.
It also assessed the seismic vulnerability of the dam's location, its ability to withstand earthquakes, the operational status of earthquake-recording instruments and the data collected by them. The team further examined the operational efficiency of the spillway gates and their equipment.
The report will be submitted to the National Dam Safety Authority and shared with the governments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Following the inspection, Kerala Water Resources Minister Mons Joseph said the state was awaiting the assessment report but would stand firm on its demand for a new dam.
"A team of senior advocates has been appointed to secure the state's demand through the Supreme Court," he said, adding that a special meeting would be convened in Delhi by the end of September to discuss the issue.