Chennai:
For the first time in 35 years, the water storage in the Mullaperiyar dam has crossed 136 feet. The rise in level follows the Supreme Court order in May this year allowing Tamil Nadu to raise the water level to 142 feet. The top court had also struck down a law passed by Kerala to restrict storage.
Though the dam is in Kerala, a lease agreement signed during the British rule with the then Maharaja of Travancore gave rights over the waters for 999 years to irrigate the parched southern Tamil Nadu.
Since the late seventies, storage in the dam was restricted after Kerala said the 120-year-old dam is weak and could endanger lives. However, after a long, legal battle, the Supreme Court found the 152-feet-high dam to be strong enough.
The Supreme Court-appointed three-member committee that inspected the dam yesterday gave specific instruction to Tamil Nadu officials on release of water. LAV Natha, chairman of the Committee, said "Two gates were not operational, however, Tamil Nadu authorities say they can manage any eventuality with other gates. If there's a two feet rise on a single day, they should release water and there should not be any sudden discharge."
The rise in water level has given farmers in Tamil Nadu a reason to cheer. Moorthy, a farmer outside Madurai, says, "our paddy cultivation has been reduced to a single crop. Now we can revive it. The waters would develop the overall rural economy."
Another farmer Kalyanam said, "Kerala should be happy too. We send most of our produce to Kerala only."
Pennycuick, a Scottish Engineer, built the Mullaperiyar Dam by selling his fortune back home; he was moved by the plight of farmers in the drought prone southern districts of Tamil Nadu.