Mullai Periyar Dam :A Spatial Perspective and some Reading Between the Lines
Dr.R.Narayanakumar, GIS Expert,Chennai
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This is one of the burning issues of spatial origin, would compel any geographer to comment. This article traces the fear psyche of recent agitations against the presence of an old dam at Tamil Nadu, Keral Border through 'Google images' and 'wiki tables' for comprehension and intellectual evaluation.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This is one of the burning issues of spatial origin, would compel any geographer to comment. When i think over it and Googled, i am able to get some glimpses of the problems and came out with my own interpretations.
The popular opinions and people psyche have largely changed after 'Fukushima'. The problem starved 25 and odd TV News channels in India want problems, if not to solve but to be discussed. This creates a greater awareness to people. This enhanced awareness combined with the fear psyche add fuel to many such problems. Let us get into the issue:
The River:
Periyar meaning big river, is one of the many perennial rivers originating in the Western Ghats. Running across idukki and Thekkadi districts of Kerala have a length of 244 kms.
The Dam:
The above Map shows Tamil Nadu Region and Kerala. Compare the greenery on Tamil Nadu Side and Kerala. Tamil Nadu is the rain shadow region of the western ghats. While Kerala enjoys the rain, Tamil Nadu suffers the shadow. The picture bellow shows the green Kerala from Mullai Periyar - the far side is the Arabian Sea.
Benefit:
Dr.R.Narayanakumar, GIS Expert,Chennai
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This is one of the burning issues of spatial origin, would compel any geographer to comment. This article traces the fear psyche of recent agitations against the presence of an old dam at Tamil Nadu, Keral Border through 'Google images' and 'wiki tables' for comprehension and intellectual evaluation.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This is one of the burning issues of spatial origin, would compel any geographer to comment. When i think over it and Googled, i am able to get some glimpses of the problems and came out with my own interpretations.
The popular opinions and people psyche have largely changed after 'Fukushima'. The problem starved 25 and odd TV News channels in India want problems, if not to solve but to be discussed. This creates a greater awareness to people. This enhanced awareness combined with the fear psyche add fuel to many such problems. Let us get into the issue:
The River:
Periyar meaning big river, is one of the many perennial rivers originating in the Western Ghats. Running across idukki and Thekkadi districts of Kerala have a length of 244 kms.
The Dam:
The Mullaperiyar Dam was constructed during 1887-1895 across Periyar River in the then Travancore state (now Kerala) territory after said indenture. The Periyar Dam with full reservoir level of 152 ft. provides for diversion of water from the reservoir through a tunnel to Vaigai basin in Tamil Nadu for irrigation benefits in 68558 ha. On 29-10-1886 a lease indenture for 999 years was made between Maharaja of Travancore and Secretary of State for India for Periyar irrigation works by another agreement in 1970, Tamil Nadu was permitted to generate power also.
Source : Ministry of Water Resources, India
The Issues:
Why Tamil Nadu Need the Dam?
- To avoid drought and immigration and Increased Agricultural Productivity
The above Map shows Tamil Nadu Region and Kerala. Compare the greenery on Tamil Nadu Side and Kerala. Tamil Nadu is the rain shadow region of the western ghats. While Kerala enjoys the rain, Tamil Nadu suffers the shadow. The picture bellow shows the green Kerala from Mullai Periyar - the far side is the Arabian Sea.
Why Kerala Hate the Dam?
The fear of Dam Failure
Fear of Natural Calamity Post Fukushima.
Let us look at this fear of dam burst little clearly from the historical evidences. A deeper look into the details reveals that many such dam bursts resulted in high mortality due to its proximity with the habitations.
Look into the following dam locations and compare it with the location of Mullai Periyar.
Hope Mills Dam : North Carolina, United States (Sinkhole caused dam failure)
Banqiao and Shimantan Dams at China
Situ Gintung Dam Indonesia ( Failed in 2009)
Before Failiure:
After Failiure:
Compare these satellite images with the bellow one showing mullai periyar dam location. The settlements are not much like the above one. It is a blessing that in Kerala the settlements are not of a conglomerate type rather dispersed. So the impact won't be as imagined or feared.
The following chart and table has been prepared from the list of dam failiures listed in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dam_failure)
From the listed 37 dam failures from Wiki it could be deduced that the failures are mainly due to unanticipated Heavy rain. Earth quake and associated geological stability causes 3 out of 37 dam bursts including 'Fukushima'.
Cost Benefit Analysis
Benefit:
High TRP Rating for TV Channels and sales for news papers.
Politicians
Movies & Theatres
Cost:
Pending projects
Retarded GDP
More cases for already strained judiciary
The following may be a broad line of solution
• Raising against failure psyche
• Addressing the real fear
• Infusing confidence through technology
• Pro developmental attitude
Disclaimer: I author tried his level best to be impartial. The intention of the author is not to prove some thing in favor of some one but make the geographical facts vivid for any one's clarification.
Author: Dr.R.Narayanakumar, Chennai
No comments:
Post a Comment