'Fears about T.N. dam not unfounded'

By P. Venugopal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, NOV. 6. The KSEB chief engineer deputed to study the Mekkara dam issue has raised suspicions about the real intentions of Tamil Nadu Government.

In his report to the KSEB chairman after inspecting the dam site at Mekkara village on the eastern ledge of the Western Ghats, the chief engineer says that the structure being constructed by Tamil Nadu could be used as a "regulating reservoir" to divert water from Kerala.

This is a definite possibility if the proposal of the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) for taking up the Pampa- Achenkovil-Vaippar Link Project becomes a reality, according to him. He suggests that the Kerala Government "ascertain whether the prime objective of the proposed dam at Mekkara is only to irrigate 6,500 acres of land", as is being claimed by the Tamil Nadu Government, using water from its own streams.

The KSEB had sent its chief engineer to Mekkara following an accusation by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. V.S. Achuthanandan, that Tamil Nadu is trying to clandestinely siphon off water from Kerala by constructing a dam at Mekkara, in Tirunelveli district. His fears were occasioned by the Pampa- Achenkovil-Vaippar Link Project proposed by the NWDA, envisaging the diversion of 22,400 mega cubic feet (mcft) of water from Kerala to Tamil Nadu to irrigate nearly 1 lakh acres of land. Kerala is dead against this project because of the deleterious impact it will have on this side of the border.

The Rs. 60-crore dam being constructed by Tamil Nadu at Mekkara, according to information provided by the Tamil Nadu officials, will have a storage capacity of only 174 mcft of water and its intention is to irrigate 6,500 acres of land.

The KSEB chief engineer says that none could pinpoint anything incongruous about the construction of a dam at Mekkara. According to the details provided by the Tamil Nadu officials, the annual yield expected from the dam is 600 mcft of water, which is feasible from the 6 sq. miles catchment area where the annual rainfall is between 1,300 mm and 1,500 mm.

He, however, hints that these basic statistics are not sufficient to rule out the suspicions of Kerala. The NWDA proposal, which Kerala is not ready to accept under any circumstances despite the pressure from Tamil Nadu, is to construct three dams across Pampa-Kallar, Achenkovil-Kallar and Achenkovil in Pathanamthitta district and interconnect the reservoirs by tunnels. The water stored is then proposed to be diverted to Tamil Nadu by means of a 9 km-long tunnel across the Western Ghats. The main canal will take off from the tunnel exit and run for a length of 50.68 km before reaching Alagar Odai, a tributary of Vaippar river.

The KSEB chief engineer notes that the exit end of the proposed tunnel on the Tamil Nadu side is very near to Mekkara dam now under construction. So it is strategically located to be used as a regulating reservoir under the Pampa-Achenkovil-Vaippar Link Project, if the NWDA proposal materialises.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Vinson M. Paul, Sakhare transferred
Next     : Mani seeks action against tyre manufacturers