Mullaperiyar Dam

Why in news?

• The Supreme Court said that the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary shall be “personally responsible” and “appropriate action” will be taken on failure to give information on the rule curve for Mullaperiyar dam to the Supreme Court-appointed Supervisory Committee.
• Rule curve in a dam decides the fluctuating storage levels in a reservoir. The gate opening schedule of a dam is based on the rule curve.
• It is part of the “core safety” mechanism in a dam.

About the Dam:

• Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in Kerala.
• It is located 881 m (2,890 ft) above mean sea level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats.
•  It was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick.
• It has a height of 53.6 m from the foundation, and a length of 365.7 m.
• The Periyar National Park in Thekkady is located around the dam's reservoir.
• The dam is built at the confluence of Mullayar and Periyar rivers.
• The dam is but is operated and maintained by the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu based on a 999-year lease agreement made during the British rule under which operational rights were handed over to Tamil Nadu (then Madras presidency).
• The catchment area of the Mullaperiyar Dam itself lies entirely in Kerala and thus not an inter-State river.
• Safety concerns of the aging Mullaperiyar dam and alleged leaks and cracks in the structure have been consistently raised by the Kerala Government as the dam was constructed using stone rubble masonry with lime mortar grouting following prevailing 19th-century construction techniques that have now become archaic.

Prelims Question

Consider the following statements:
1.Vaigai river passes through northern Tamil Nadu including Chennai.
2.Periyar is the largest river in Kerala by volume.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)1 only
(b)2 only
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to the Prelims Question