Geography

SC tells panel to fix maximum water level at Mullaperiyar dam

·        Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala.

·        It 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, India.

·        It was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick and also reached in an agreement to divert water eastwards to the Madras Presidency area (presentday Tamil Nadu).

·        The Periyar National Park in Thekkady is placed around the dam’s reservoir.

·        The dam is built at the confluence of Mullayar and Periyar rivers.

·        The dam is located in Kerala on the river Periyar, but is operated and maintained by the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.

·        According to a 999-year lease agreement made during the British rule the operational rights were handed over to Tamil Nadu.

·        Although the Periyar River has a total catchment area of 5398 km2 with 114 km2 downstream from the dam in Tamil Nadu, the catchment area of the Mullaperiyar Dam Itself lies absolutely in Kerala and as a consequence now not an inter-State river.

·        The dam redirected the river to float towards the Bay of Bengal, instead of the Arabian Sea and provide water to the arid rain area of Madurai in MadrasPresidency, the shadow regions of the Tamil Nadu.