Prithviraj Sukumaran calls for decommissioning the Mullaperiyar Dam
Post heavy rains, the water levels in the 125 year old Mullaperiyar dam have risen to dangerous levels, so much that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan requested Tamil Nadu CM, MK Stalin to draw as much water as possible to maintain safety levels. The Supreme Court also took notice of the alarming issue following a petition raised over the concern over high water levels in Mullaperiyar Dam. The court asked both the governments to do the needful at the earliest as lives were at stake. “We direct all the parties to consult each other in coordination with (the) state governments. Take a call on the water-level. Do it with immediacy. It’s a very serious issue. It’s a matter of people’s lives and property,” the court said.
Social media has been buzzing with demands for decommissioning the Mullaperiyar dam with the hashtag #DecommissionMullaperiyarDam. Actor, director and producer Prithviraj Sukumaran took to social media yesterday to write about the issue, he wrote, “Regardless of what the facts and findings are or will be, there is no reason or excuse for this 125 year old dam to exist as a functioning structure! It’s about time we put politics and economics aside and do what is right. We can only trust the system, and let’s pray that the system makes the right decision! #DecommissionMullaperiyarDam”
It has been reported that the dam was built with a lifespan of 50 years and it is one of the oldest dams in the world. But currently it is over 125 years old and the fact that it is in a seismically active area, makes it all the more dangerous. A report by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health said that Mullaperiyar dam, built in 1895, is situated in a landslide-prone area, “If at all any failure occurs in the dam, around 3.5 million people will be affected.”
