Kozhikode (Kerala) | E Sreedharan, popularly known as 'Metroman,' on Wednesday gave several suggestions like building of "counterfort retaining walls" every 120 meters along the over-125-year-old Mullaperiyar dam located in the high-range district of Idukki, to make it safer for another 50 years.
Sreedharan, while speaking at an event here, said there was no need for a new dam and the older one can be made safer by also constructing a tunnel from the reservoir to Tamil Nadu with smaller reservoirs in between to store the water.
"If we do these two things, we need not worry about the dam's safety for another 50 years. It would address Tamil Nadu's water needs and ensure the safety of the dam. Moreover, building a new dam would take a lot of time and cost a lot," he said.
Sreedharan said that he did not have much knowledge about the dam and therefore, he gathered details about it from Wikipedia, from which he was able to understand that while the reservoir was in Kerala, the water was going to Tamil Nadu.
"There are a lot of misunderstandings and misconceptions about its safety," he said.
Concerns over the safety of the dam were recently reportedly raised by Congress MP Dean Kuriakose in the Lok Sabha.
Kuriakose had reportedly referred to the dam as a "water bomb" and demanded that it be decommissioned.
Later, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said there was no need to be concerned over the safety of the dam.
The Mullaperiyar dam was built in 1895.
While Tamil Nadu has been maintaining that the dam is "absolutely safe", Kerala has been vociferous in its demand for a new dam to be built near the existing structure.
