Mullaperiyar dam issue - Possible effects of a dam disaster

The Mullaperiyar Dam issue has been in the news recently for some life-threatening reasons. When an integral part of a cultural state is on the verge of being demolished forever by natural forces, one can only imagine the plight of the people who could get involved in such a catastrophe. Here we are talking about none other than the state of Kerala which is known as 'God's own country' and is in a critical situation where the breakage of a dam can result in the non-existence of a major part of the state. The shocking factor is that such a disaster can very well be avoided if the neighbouring state called Tamil Nadu shows some humanity. Before getting into more details about the disaster that the Mullaperiyar dam can cause, let us look at some basics about the dam.


The Mullaperiyar dam is a gravity dam which was built between 1887 and 1895 during the time of British rule in India. The dam was erected at the meeting point of two major rivers namely Periyar and Mullaiyar, thus obtaining the name Mullaperiyar. The main reason for its construction by the British was to divert the abundance of the Periyar river water towards the state of Tamil Nadu. This decision was taken because Tamil Nadu was lacking enough water for its entire state and was depending on the Vaigai river which provides very less quantity of water for irrigation and drinking purposes. The speciality of Mullaperiyar dam is that it is the only prevailing gravity dam in the world which is made of lime stone and surkhi, which is a mixture of sugar and calcium oxide. At present, the dam's condition has been found to be very weak as it is already 116 years old and can break any minute ultimately flooding most parts of Kerala and resulting in the death of millions of innocent lives as well as the destruction of property and important buildings.

The interesting part about the Mullaperiyar dam is that though it is located within Kerala and is also completely owned by the state, the authority to operate the dam lies with the neighbouring state Tamil Nadu. This kind of agreement has eventually resulted in such a dilemma that one state has become totally dependant on the other's decision for the safety of its own people. The government of Tamil Nadu is not giving the permission to Kerala for reducing the level of water in the dam as they fear that they will get less water in such a situation. The dam is almost 116 years old now and has reached a level where it cannot withstand too much water anymore. The major concern is that the Mullaperiyar dam is situated on an earthquake prone zone and even a minor earthquake can result in the breakage of the dam. If such a disaster occurs, another alarming factor is that the water that would burst out from the dam will move towards the Idukki dam which could also break in case it cannot withstand all that water, the aftermath of which can be horrifying. The best solution for this problem is not in increasing the level of the dam which is already leaking in many parts. Building a new dam altogether is also not a good decision at present because this will take a lot of time. The only thing that can be done to prevent a disaster is to reduce the level of water that is present in the Mullaperiyar dam. While Kerala suggested the construction of a new dam, Tamil Nadu claims that this is just an excuse made by Kerala to acquire the complete operational authority over the Mullaperiyar dam.

What will be the aftermath of the failure of the Mullaperiyar dam? It can wash out four districts of the state of Kerala namely Kottayam, Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Idukki after which the state of Kerala itself will be divided into two different lands. This calamity will mean the death of more than 4 million people residing in Kerala. Other than this, it will also mean the end of a culture which will affect Kerala's tourism and ultimately the state's economy also. The entire state of Kerala will be filled with darkness as it depends completely on the Idukki hydro electric power plant for electricity. The amusing aspect is that in the event of the dam disaster, Tamil Nadu will not receive anymore water from the Periyar river for its irrigational and drinking purposes as the entire water would be washed away into the Arabian ocean. At present the case regarding this issue is circling within the supreme court and the politicians of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Everyone is looking at political and personal gains whereas no one is actually bothered about the human lives that are in danger. The whole issue shows that the phenomenon called humanity has disappeared from earth.