THENI: After much delay, the Kerala government allowed construction materials for maintenance of the Mullaperiyar Dam brought in by officials of the WRD-PWD Department of Tamil Nadu.
According to various sources, around 16 types of maintenance work were being carried out in the dam in Kerala by the WRD-PWD department (Tamil Nadu). The work was particularly focused on monsoon preparedness season and its consequences. As the northeast monsoon began, two trucks loaded with M-sand and other construction materials were sent for maintenance work from Tamil Nadu for the dam on December 4.
However, the trucks were stopped for some reason at the Vallakadavu checkpost. The local officials claimed that the trucks did not have permission from the forest department (Kerala) for entry and the trucks returned back.
Upon hearing about the incident, Theni Collector RV Shajeevana brought the issue to the notice of a top official from the Water Resource Department (Tamil Nadu) in Chennai. Later, the department demanded the forest department (Kerala) to grant permission. As a result, after a gap of 11 days, trucks were allowed to enter Mullaperiyar Dam for maintenance.