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Kerala, Tamil Nadu battle over Mullaperiyar dam again, this time due to the rains
Kerala has asked Tamil Nadu to take more water from the dam as rains have forced the state to open the sluice gates to ease the pressure. However, Tamil Nadu is refusing to take water from the dam, Kerala says.
The Mullaperiyar Dam again became an issue between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, with flood-battered Kerala on Wednesday complaining the neighbouring state was refusing to accept more water from the brimming dam.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Tamil Nadu was requested to take more water from the dam, which had reached its full level of 142 feet but had refused.
He said he would talk to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Edappadi K Palaniswami on the issue again.
Mullaperiyar dam was among the 33 dams in Kerala whose sluice gates have been opened to release excess water, after heavy rains in their catchment areas.
The over-century-old British-era dam is situated in Kerala, but serves and is operated by Tamil Nadu, making it a contentious issue between both states who have fought a battle in the Supreme Court over it.
While Kerala had said the dam was dangerous and needed to be replaced by a new structure, Tamil Nadu had sought an increase in its height. The Supreme Court, which had set up a committee headed by former Chief Justice of India AS Anand to check the condition of the dam in 2010, had ruled for Tamil Nadu in its verdict in 2014, allowing the raising of its height from 136 feet to 142 feet.
