An engineering marvel, Mullaperiyar dam turns 125 on Saturday

Opened in 1895, dam was caught in interstate dispute between TN, Kerala over its strength 

KOCHI: Mullaperiyar dam, an engineering marvel and a lifeline for five arid districts of Tamil Nadu, will complete 125 years of existence on Saturday. More than 3,000 workers had toiled for eight years, braving cold weather, incessant rain, wild animals and deadly diseases like cholera and malaria to build the 175-ft-high dam. It was the great Madras famine of 1876-78 that prompted the then British regime to construct a dam across Periyar so that the water could be diverted to the Vaigai river for irrigating the farm lands of Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts in Tamil Nadu.

An agreement was signed in October 1886 between the Maharaja of Travancore and then Madras Presidency, by which 8,100 acres of land were leased out for constructing the dam. The works began under the leadership of Scottish Major John Pennycuick in September 1887. The dam changed the lives of the residents of Theni who started worshipping Pennycuick as a demigod. However, as years passed, the dam was caught in an interstate dispute with Kerala raising concerns about its strength and demanding the construction of a new dam. Tamil Nadu opposed, paving the way for a prolonged legal battle and animosity between the two states.[Readmore]