Committee members inspecting Mullaiperiyar dam near Thekkady in Kerala, on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Officials from the Water Resources Department and PWD from Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments inspected the Mullaperiyar reservoir led by the sub-committee chairman R. Giridharan on Thursday.According to reliable sources, the officials left for the main dam from Thekkadi by a boat provided by the Tamil Nadu government. They inspected the gallery, Baby dam, shutter, seepage water level and among others. After about two hours, they reached Kumily, where they had a consultative meeting.The officials, it is said, discussed various issued, including the long pending demands from the TN government including felling of trees and road laying works among others.During the meeting, the officials expressed satisfaction over the safety of the dam and the upkeep was also as per the standards. A senior official from Tamil Nadu government side told The Hindu over phone that at the present storage level, there was no issue. “Everything is fine here...” the technocrat said.The supervisory committee for the Mullaperiyar Dam, led by National Dam Safety Authority Chairman Anil Jain inspected the dam on March 22, officials said.Meanwhile, the Cumbum Valley Farmers’ Association, Col. Pennicuick Farmers’ Association and among other outfits coordinator Balasingam told media persons that they were disappointed and disgusted with the governments. “The committee has been visiting the dam at periodic intervals. However, they have not moved an inch forward to improvise the reservoir as directed by the Supreme Court as early as in May 2014.... What is the purpose of simply visiting without carrying out the repairs., The Committee members do not entertain the farmers to make representations and also do not speak to the media persons”, he charged.The Supreme Court had clearly awarded to increase the storage level to 152 feet after improvising the approach road and others in the Kerala Forest area. “We expected the Tamil Nadu government to take it up with Kerala government and increase the storage level long back. However, the stoic silence has only demoralised the farmers and we will examine approaching the apex court shortly,” he added. Published - September 11, 2025 08:33 pm IST
