Two technical members of the Empowered Committee appointed by the Supreme Court on the Mullaperiyar dam issue on Friday visited the Idukki arch dam and Cheruthoni in the Idukki reservoir.
Earlier, the team led by C.D. Thatte, former Secretary to the Ministry of Water Resources, and D.K. Mehta, retired Chief Engineer, Central Water Commission, visited the Pampla dam at Lower Periyar on the downstream of the Idukki dam.
The visit was to assess whether the main dam at Idukki and the Pampla dam on the downstream of the Mullaperiyar dam could afford the waters in case of a breach to the Mullaperiyar dam, and analyse the present condition of the dam.
The team will visit the Mullaperiyar dam on Saturday and later, the Vaigai dam in Tamil Nadu where the water from the Mullaperiyar dam is stored for irrigation and power generation.
The visit assumes importance as its report is significant to find a solution to the vexed issue. Journalists were not allowed and the Information and Public Relations Department had kept mum over the visit.
The team first visited the Cheruthoni dam, through which the additional water in the Idukki reservoir is diverted to the Periyar. The Pampla dam has the capacity to produce electricity from the additional water coming from the Idukki dam.
However, the team avoided visiting the Kulamavu dam of the Idukki reservoir, from where the water is diverted to the underground Moolamattom Power House in the foothill of Nadukani. The team held discussions with officials of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and the Water Resources Department at the Guest House here.
The team was accompanied by two KSEB representatives, in addition to Mullaperiyar Special Cell chairman M.K. Parameswaran Nair, cell member James Wilson, and Irrigation wing chief engineer P. Lathika. The team later left for Kumily.
