Your editorial “Damn safety” (May 19) is timely. As has been pointed out, many dams have already crossed their life span, being more than 50 years old. And over 100 of them are more than a century old. There is no monitoring system and mechanism to ensure the safety of dams. Imagine the danger and disaster of a dam collapse.
So, an action for prevention is of utmost importance. It is pointed out that though the move of the government to enact legislation in this regard may address these issues, funding may be a problem. The government could create a fund with the Centre and states contributing in an agreed proportion. And the mechanism proposed for surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance should be for all the dams, and it should have the final authority to deal with inter-state disputes.
For example, people in Kerala living down the Mullaperiyar dam, which is more than 100 years old and is showing signs of leakage, are under constant threat. At the same time, Tamil Nadu is asking to raise the height of the dam and is objecting to Kerala’s survey for a new dam. Such problems need to be solved.
Jacob Sahayam, Thiruvananthapuram
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