Sunday 1 July 2012

Why our GOVERNMENT fail to remember Mullaperiyar dam ?



After the 1979 Morvi Dam failure which killed up to 15,000 people, safety concerns of the aging Mullaperiyar dam's and alleged leaks and cracks in the structure were raised by the Kerala Government.A Kerala government institution, Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS), Thiruvananthapuram, had reported that the structure would not withstand an earthquake above magnitude 6 on the Richter scale.The dam was also inspected by the Chairman, CWC (Central Water Commission). On the orders of the CWC, the Tamil Nadu government lowered the storage level from 142.2 feet to 136 feet, conducted safety repairs and strengthened the dam.
Strengthening measures adopted by Tamil Nadu PWD from 1979 onwards include cable anchoring of the dam's structure and RCC backing for the front slope. During a recent scanning of the Mullaperiyar dam using a remotely operated vehicle by the Central Soil and Materials Research Station on directions from the Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court, the Kerala Government observer opined that "mistakes in the strengthening works carried out by Tamil Nadu" in 1979 damaged the masonry of the dam.
Current safety concerns hinge around several issues. Since the dam was constructed using stone rubble masonry with lime mortar grouting following prevailing 19th century construction techniques that have now become archaic, seepage and leaks from the dam have caused concern. Moreover, the dam is situated in a seismically active zone.An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale occurred on June 7, 1988 with maximum damage in Nedumkandam and Kallar (within 20 km of the dam).Consequently several earthquake tremors have occurred in the area in recent times. These could be reservoir-induced seismicity, requiring further studies according to experts.A 2009 report by IIT Roorkee stated that the dam "was likely to face damage if an earthquake of the magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale struck its vicinity when the water level is at 136 feet".
If an earthquake causes the dam to collapse, it can threaten the lives of 3.5 million people downstream. The issue needs to be looked at as a national problem, not as a dispute between two states, says Dipu Santh

India is said to be a country that upholds the slogan "unity in diversity". We proudly state this to everyone around the world, but there is a question that we have to ask ourselves -- is it true or is it just a statement we put forward to hide our failings?

There's a small example I would like to put forward, the present Mullaperiyar dam crisis which should by all means seen as a national issue rather than an issue between two states.

If we dig deep and go into the history, the Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam built over the river Periyar in 1895 during the British colonial rule with a predicted life span of 50 years to divert water eastwards towards the Madras presidency area (present day Tamil Nadu).

The diverted water from this dam is used for irrigation in Sivaganga, Theni, Madurai and Ramanathapuram districts. The Periyar power station in Tamil Nadu produces hydro-electric power from these waters and distributes that electricity in Tamil Nadu.

1 comment:

  1. Govt kanikkunna kruretha .......... gods own country

    ReplyDelete

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