This will happen here....

DEDICATED TO ALL ALIVE KERALITES

The 999 year old contract is no more a water issue, it's an issue with the lives of laths of people. Being one among them, I am not appealing for a mercy to save people's life because if it was a motive then a new dam must have already been built at Iuka, Since this issue started before year 2000.

 What I want my readers is to make sure that we know we were going to die before we actually do.

As the case is between two states Kerala and Tamil Nadu things are little complicated here. Only question Kerala has is about life of 35lack people in five districts including Kottayam, Ernakulam and Alappuzha.

For Tamil Nadu, it’s main source of their revenue in terms of electricity which Tamil Nadu produces from Mullaperiyar which was not agreed in the Dam agreement with Kerala. What Kerala agreed was that the water can be used for serving water supply to seven districts in Tamil Nadu.

THE HISTORY

Mullaperiyar Dam is constructed over the headwaters of the Periyar River in 1895 Kerala, India. The Periyar National Park, Thekkady is located around the Periyar reservoir formed by the backwaters of this dam. It is operated by the Government of Tamil Nadu according to a 999-year lease agreement made during erstwhile British colonial rule.

   

THE TRAGEDY

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 People of Idukki, Kerala’s second largest district having several giant, large and medium-sized dams, now feel that they are perhaps sitting on a geological time bomb in the context of recurring tremors, soil piping among hills surrounding a huge reservoir and cracks and leaks that keep on appearing in a 115-year-old old-technology dam due to seismic activities.

In fact, the strange geological occurrences and their alarming effects on the dams of mountainous Idukki are spreading panic not just among the people of that district but also among those in at least two others, Kottayam and Ernakulam. Idukki comes in Zone 3 seismic category where quakes of magnitude up to 6.0 on the Richter scale cannot be ruled out.

What has caused fresh concerns among the people of the low-lying areas of Idukki district are the new cracks that have developed in the 115-year-old Mullaperiyar dam on the border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Fresh cracks appeared at least at three points in the dam and water seepage through cracks increased after two low-intensity tremors hit the region on Friday.

According to amateur geologists who accuse their professional counterparts of keeping facts subdued for understandable reasons, the large and medium-sized dams numbering over a dozen in Idukki district constitute a huge threat to millions of people, other fauna and flora and the geography itself of an entire region.

However, the biggest concern stems from the changes occurring around the biggest dam of the district itself, the Idukki arch dam, the largest of its kind in entire Asia, which normally keeps 1.5 billion cubic metres of water, used for generating 66 per cent of the total electricity the State consumes.

The Idukki reservoir system, constituted by three giant dams, is situated right in the downstream line from the Mullaperiyar reservoir, where the ancient-technology dam is said to have reached the last phase of its life. The worry is that the Idukki dam system would not be able to withstand the weight of additional water in the event of a breach in the Mullaperiyar dam.

THE PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

Solution #1: Build a large parallel Dam within secure distance from current dam and break current one.
Flaws: It will take at least ten years to build a similar capacity dam and current dam can’t stay for more than an year as it is now. Keep in mind that yesterday there was fourth miner earthquake of this month. So either Tamil Nadu will have to suffer ten years without less water which may cause major financial lose to the state specially who depends on agriculture. But keeping water level in low while the other Dam is build will solve 70% of water availability issue. Kerala Govnt even agreed to spend 600 crores for new Dam for sake of people security. Kerala is not using water from Mullaperiyar Dam at present. So with investment of money in, Kerala is expecting to get water benefits.

Solution #2: Build more smaller Dams and lower water level of Mullaperiyar and destroy Mullaperiyar securely after all Dams are built. Water can still be used by Tamil Nadu, but they won't be able to make 30,000 core per year which they are making now by electricity which was not agreed in the initial agreement with Kerala. Tamil Nadu will not agree to such a lose ignoring life of millions of people in Kerala.

BUT....

Besides these points from internet, I think it's not a good idea to build a new dam, since it will take years. Now Kerala is in Zone 3 of earth quake vulnerability, and I think measures to be taken immediately are:

* Reduce water level of dam.

* Take precautions to reduce velocity of flood water, in case the dam bursts.

* Start disaster management awareness programs immediately.