KOCHI: Raising the pitch for decommissioning of the 126-year-old Mullaperiyar dam, Russel Joy, a lawyer practising in the Kerala High Court, has submitted a representation to the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Naval Command Vice-Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla. He points out that in the eventuality of a dam burst, the Southern Naval Command, Naval Armament Depot (NAD), Kochi airport and Kochi Refinery will be washed away along with five million people living in the downstream areas of the Periyar.
“Mullaperiyar dam located above Southern Naval Command is a threat to national safety and it should be de-commissioned immediately. We cannot compromise on national security. The Kerala government is hiding this potential threat to the Navy. The Mullaperiyar dam is not only a threat to India’s safety but also an atrocity against mankind which calls for international attention,” Joy said in his letter.
Claiming that the area has several geological fault lines, he said Idukki district, particularly the vicinity of the dam, has been experiencing frequent tremors in the recent past and the intensity of the tremors has been increasing. As many as 26 tremors were recorded in the vicinity of the dam with magnitude ranging from 1 to 2 on Richter scale in 2011. The area recorded 26 tremors in 11 days in November 2011 and 21 tremors from January to August 2020 with magnitude ranging from 2 to 3. In 2021, two tremors of magnitude above 3 were recorded. The most recent tremor was recorded on May 30, said Joy.
Pointing out that Kerala has experienced tremors with a magnitude of 4 on the Richter scale, he said such an eventuality at Mullaperiyar cannot be brushed aside. If such a termor happens near the dam site, it would wreck the dam as per a study report of the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.
The scientists at the Centre for Earth Sciences Studies say an earthquake of a magnitude of 5 can lead to failure of the dam.
According to the report of IIT Roorkey, if there was a dam break upstream of a main river, the dams downstream would also break. Therefore, the Idukki dam will not be able to withstand if Mullaperiyar dam breaks and seven other dams in the downstream areas will also be destroyed, said Joy.