Mullaperiyar dam safety dispute begins
Kerala's safety fears about Mullaperiyar dam after the 1979 Morvi disaster led Tamil Nadu to cut its storage level to 136 feet and reinforce the structure.
Although it stands in Kerala, the Mullaperiyar dam is run by Tamil Nadu to water the state's southern districts. Following the 1979 collapse of the Morvi dam in Gujarat, the Kerala government questioned whether the old structure was safe, pointing to alleged cracks and leakage. Directed by the Central Water Commission, Tamil Nadu brought the storage level down from 152 feet to 142.2 feet and later to 136 feet, and from 1979 it reinforced the dam with measures such as grouting and cable anchoring. The permitted level turned into the core of a protracted dispute between Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which eventually reached the Supreme Court.
