Recently the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam crossed the 113ft mark
About Mullaperiyar dam
- It is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala
- The dam is built at the confluence of Mullayar and Periyar rivers
- The dam is located 881 m (2,890 ft) above mean sea level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala, South India.
- It has a height of 53.6 m (176 ft) from the foundation, and a length of 365.7 m (1,200 ft)
- It was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick and an agreement was signed to divert water eastwards to the Madras Presidency area (present-day Tamil Nadu).
- Though the dam is located Kerala on the river Periyar, but is operated and maintained by the state of Tamil Nadu
- But the control and safety of the dam and the validity and fairness of the lease agreement have been points of dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu states.
- The dam created the Periyar Thekkady reservoir, from which water was diverted eastwards via a tunnel to augment the small flow of the Vaigai River. The Vaigai was dammed by the Vaigai Dam to provide a source for irrigating large tracts around Madurai.
- Interestingly the Periyar National park in Thekkady is located around the dam’s reservoir
- Currently, the water from the Periyaru (Thekkady) Lake created by the dam, is diverted through the watershed cutting and a tunnel to Forebay Dam near Kumily (Iraichalpalam).
