Mullaperiyar Dam

Mullaperiyar Dam Overview

Mullaiperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located 881 m (2,890 ft) above mean sea level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala. It has a height of 53.6 m (176 ft) from the foundation, and a length of 365.7 m (1,200 ft). Constructed over an eight-year period (1887-1895) in the then princely state of Travancore (present-day Kerala), it was given on a 999-year lease to the neighbouring Madras Presidency under the Periyar Lake Lease Agreement of October 29, 1886. The dam was built with the intention of diverting the West-flowing Periyar river eastwards to the arid rain shadow region of Madurai. The dam stands at the height of 53.66 metres and 365.85 metres in length. If definitive measures were implemented, only then could the Tamil Nadu administration raise water levels to the dam’s full capacity of 152 feet.