Farmers in five TN districts cheerful as Mullaperiyar dam level reaches 142 feet

This is the fifth time since apex court’s decision in 2014 the water level has reached the level

Distributing sweets to the public, farmers from the five southern districts -- Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga -- thanked Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for the efforts in having the storage level of Mullaperiyar reservoir at 142 feet.

Speaking to reporters, the association office-bearers said that after the apex court delivered its verdict in May 2014 permitting storage level at 142 feet, this was the fifth time the water level had reached the 142 feet mark.

About 2.57 lakh acres of agricultural land in the five districts benefit from the dam as the water is distributed for irrigation. Also, for drinking water needs of parts of Theni, Dindigul and Madurai, the Mullaperiyar water is used.

In 1979, when the Kerala government raised apprehensions about the dam safety and strength, the water level was scaled down from 152 feet to 136 feet. After the case was taken up with the apex court by the then chief minister Jayalalithaa, the court directed to increase the level to 142 feet.

The farmers said that the storage level reached the 142 feet mark on November 21, 2014, December 7, 2015, August 16, 2018, November 30, 2021 and Dec 27, 2022.

Following the third and final call announcement by the PWD engineers on December 27, the people in Vallakadavu, Vandi Periyar, Upputhara, and other locations in Idukki district, Kerala, were given an alert to be safe and stay away from the riverbanks.