The Hindu : Front Page : Mullaperiyar dam safe: Tamil Nadu

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Mullaperiyar dam safe: Tamil Nadu

Special Correspondent

Team of engineers inspect dam, galleries
“Seepage well below permissible limits”

CHENNAI: The Mullaperiyar dam is stable and in safe condition, according to a team of senior engineers of the State government. The team comprising chief engineers and engineers of the Dam Safety Directorate inspected the dam on Tuesday and Friday in the wake of reports in certain sections of the media that the Kerala government had claimed that there were seepages in the dam.

The team was of the view that the main dam, the baby dam and the surplus arrangements in the dam were all functioning well.

Giving details of the team’s inspection and findings, Principal Secretary of the Public Works Department S. Ramasundaram, on Saturday, sent letters to the Secretary of the Union Water Resources Ministry and the Additional Chief Secretary of the Kerala Water Resources Department, besides Central Water Commission.

The team’s report stated that the seepage was 58.46 litres per minute when the water level in the dam was 135.1 feet. This quantity of seepage was well below the permissible limits. The bitumen provided in the construction joints in Blocks 17 and 18 had “slightly come out due to weathering” over the years. “This will be repaired under regular maintenance [work] and there will not be any wetting/dampness in the dam thereafter. Moreover, this dampness has occurred only due to the recent local rains,” the communication said.

Mr. Ramasundaram also mentioned that the team had “extensively inspected” the dam, the galleries, downstream of the dam and the spillways.

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