Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha on Tuesday unveiled a new memorial to commemorate the late John Pennycuick, the indomitable British engineer who led the PWD team that built the Mullaperiyar dam 120 years ago.
She hoped that the Supreme Court would render justice to the state. The row is over urging Kerala to let it raise water storage to the dam’s maximum level of 152 feet once the remaining dam strengthening works are completed.
The apex court appointed an “empowered committee” headed by Justice Anand had in its report clearly stated that the Mullaperiyar dam “is strong and sturdy” and that the water storage in the reservoir could be raised to its full capacity on completing all the remaining works to reinforce its structure, the AIADMK leader said. Tamil Nadu is pinning its hopes on the expert committee’s report on the safety of the dam to get a favourable judicial ruling.
She inaugurated a Manimandapam, built by the state at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore and which houses a life-size bronze statue of Pennycuick on the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board premises at the Lower Camp near Theni.