Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday warned of strict action against those who spread unnecessary panic over Mullaperiyar dam on social media platforms. The CM told the assembly that there was no need for any concern about the safety of the dam.
Social media is abuzz with demands for decommissioning the Mullaperiyar dam and constructing a new dam. Actor Prithviraj started the campaign through a Facebook post where he demanded the politicians to keep politics aside and to take a proper decision to decommission the dam that has been used several decades past its intended lifespan of 50 years.
Many actors and social activists followed suit demanding the same and even the social media handles of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has been flooded with requests to agree to the construction of a new dam at Mullaperiyar.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheeshan took up the matter in the assembly and wanted the government to allay the fears of the people about a possible dam failure. He also wanted the government to come out with an answer to pacify the worried people.
Read: Kerala CM asks TN to draw maximum water from Mullaperiyar dam as rains may intensify
Former Electricity Minister and the current MLA from Udumbanchola MM Mani, in his supplementary question, also raised concerns about the safety of the dam. "If anything happens to the dam, people in Idukki and Ernakulam would be affected. People are deeply concerned about the safety of the dam," Mani had said.
Chief Minister, however, said all the concerns shared on social media are misplaced and only help in scaring people. He also reiterated that Kerala sticks to its demand for a new dam but the Centre and Tamil Nadu are having differences of opinion. The CM further said Tamil Nadu has been cooperating well in this issue and there are no bilateral issues that could not be solved through talks.
On Sunday, Pinarayi wrote to Stalin asking the latter to ensure that the maximum quantity of water is drawn from Mullaperiyar dam as the reservoir level may reach 142 ft once the torrential rains intensify. He urged Stalin to release water from Mullaperiyar dam through the tunnel to Vaigal Dam and to gradually release water downstream.
Earlier this year, a report titled 'Ageing water storage infrastructure: an emerging global risk', published by the United Nations University cautioned a possible failure of the 126-year-old Mullaiperiyar dam. The report said the dam, which is in a seismically active (earthquake-prone) shows significant structural flaws and may be at risk of failure. It said a minor earthquake caused cracks in the dam in 1979 and more cracks appeared in the dam due to seismic activity. It further said the leaks and leaching in the dam are also concerning as the methods and materials used during construction are considered outdated compared to current building standards.
However, the UN University in its report has not mentioned whether their expert teams conducted a physical examination of the dam before coming to these conclusions or whether they have only referred to the earlier studies to make inferences.
