THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Is there a way to ensure sufficient water to Tamil Nadu from the Mullaperiyar dam, equivalent to what could be drawn when it reaches 142 ft, while maintaining a lesser level?
Before answering it, the storage and discharge level of the Vaigai dam in Tamil Nadu, to which water from the Mullaperiyar flows, need to be looked into. The water level in the Vaigai is augmented when water flows from the Periyar Power station into the Vairavanar and then to the Suruliyar.
The water level in the 119-year-old Mullaperiyar dam had stayed close to 136 ft for the last one month on account of heavy rains in the catchment area.
Tamil Nadu draws 2,000 cusecs of water daily on an average now. But even when passions were running high on both sides recently, the Vaigai dam with a height of 111 feet and a storage level of 71 feet held only 30 per cent of its capacity. The volume of water discharged at present from the Mullaperiyar through the forebay dam was enough to raise the water level in this dam to 108 feet.
Water from the Mullaperiyar flows to the forebay dam at Erachippalam. From there, four huge penstock pipes carry it to the 175 MW Periyar power station for generating electricity. Excess water is diverted through a waterfall at Erachippalam.
From the Lower Periyar station, the combined surge is channeled to irrigate large tracts of agricultural land downstream in Theni, Dindigul, Madurai and areas around lying east, with the Vaigai dam acting as a reservoir in between.
“No one can blame the state if such a demand is raised from the point of view of allaying the fears of the people,” said V J Kurien, Additional Chief Secretary, water resources and Kerala’s nominee in the three-member monitoring committee appointed by the apex court. N K Premachandran, MP and former water resources minister, said Kerala had raised its concerns well, but the stand taken by the court was unfortunate. “At this juncture, either we have to prevail upon the Prime Minister to intervene or Kerala should approach an international forum for justice,” he said.
People living downstream of the Mullaperiyar dam have fears despite legal and technical assertions that the structure is safe. Natural calamities are beyond anyone’s control, but man-made disasters are entirely different. In the case of the Mullaperiyar, such fears have reached a dangerous level. Only reassuring measures from governments can make a change in the scenario.
Maintaining a lower water level in the Mullaperiyar dam and a corresponding higher level at the Vaigai dam would go a long way in bringing about a thaw in the strained relations between the two states.
Kerala’s political voice has remained subdued for long when compared to that of Tamil Nadu. This has weakened further in the current national political context.
It will be a Herculean task to convince the BJP-led Government that mediation is imperative for a solution, even when the validity and fairness of the lease agreement is debatable.