THENI: Following the boycott by members of the Mullaiperiyar sub-committee, which was scheduled to inspect the Mullaiperiyar Dam, the baby dam, shutters and other areas, the executive engineer and chairman of the Central Water Commission (CWC) left without inspecting the dam on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the sub-committee, led by CWC Executive Engineer and Chairman of the sub-committee B Sathish and other officials visited the dam in the morning. However, the representatives from Tamil Nadu boycotted the inspection.
“In this fiscal year, 13 types of works including maintenance of slipways where excess is water released, the gallery area and the main dam should have been carried out at the dam. Engineers from Tamil Nadu sent a letter to their Kerala counterparts and also explained the significance of these works in person.
Engineers from Kerala inspected the workplace six months ago. These works are to be carried out before the northeast monsoon. However, the officials from Kerala are not providing permission to carry construction materials to carry out these works,” they said.
They further said that they sent reminders to the chairman and government secretaries of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. During the eighth monitoring meeting, a decision was made that a team, led by Kattappana Dam executive engineer would ensure that construction materials are allowed to be moved and the work can be carried out for three days. Yet, the executive engineers from Kerala did not respond to the monitoring committee’s advice either.
Speaking to TNIE, an official from Tamil Nadu said they expressed their grievance to the CWC chairman. “Though TN engineers explained the need to carry out these maintenance works, the engineers from Kerala questioned the need for the same and refused to provide permission.”