Test to measure M'periyar dam resilience under way

Drilling on to collect material from dam wall

A team comprising officials from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Central agencies on Tuesday reviewed core materials of the Mullaperiyar dam for scientific tests to ascertain strength of the dam.

Workers have been deployed under the supervision of experts to extract material component used in  the dam.

The tests will be performed in accordance to directives of the Supreme Court empowered committee. The report on strength of the dam will be submitted to the apex court, which will take a final call on the dam based on it.

The Maharashtra government-owned Dapodi workshop has been entrusted with the drilling operations which commenced on January 4. The samples collected will be tested at the Central Soil and Materials Research Station (CSMRS) and the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS)  under the Water Resources ministry, in presence of the contesting parties.

Officials from Tamil Nadu, Chairman of the Mullaperiyar cell of the Kerala government M K Parameswaran Nair and officials from  CSMRS and CWPRS visited the dam on Tuesday. Speaking to Deccan Herald, Nair said a total of eight holes would be drilled to collect core material from the dam.

Driven by time constraints, only 150 mm thick samples will be collected at present, instead of the proposed 250 mm thick samples, sources said, adding that workers failed to obtain ‘surki,’ used to bind the stones of the dam. This reflects on the degradation of the surki, they added.

Only stone could be collected after a week of drilling. Workers will bore bigger holes in the coming days to collect ‘surki.’ The drilling works are expected to take at least three months.

Protest against Malayala Manorama

A pro-LTTE Tamil group, calling themselves May 17th Fighters, wanted the  ‘Malayala Manorama’ publications to move out of the ‘Chennai Book Fair,’ for its stand on the Mullaperiyar issue, reports DHNS from Chennai.