Stalin to meet Pinarayi, Siruvani water sharing to be discussed

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will be meeting his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister is reaching Kerala to participate in the South Indian Chief Ministers' conference, also being attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The discussions between the two Chief Ministers will be mainly centred around Siruvani and Mullaperiyar water sharing issues.

Located inside deep forests in Palakkad district of Kerala, the Siruvani dam is a major source of drinking water for the people of Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu.

Notably, after the 2019 floods in Kerala, the state water resources department has been maintaining water levels below the Full Reservoir Level (FRL). The Kerala irrigation department has been maintaining the water level of Siruvani dam at 44 ft since 2019 instead of 49.5 ft which is the water level agreed between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Lowering of water level by five feet will lead to a shortage of 122.05 mcft (million cubic feet) which is 19 per cent of the storage capacity of the dam.

The Water level in Siruvani dam has gone up following incessant rains in the catchment areas of the dam and on Thursday the water level touched 43.5 ft and Coimbatore receives 101.4 MLD of water from Siruvani. However once the water level touches 44 ft, the water will be discharged.

Sources in the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department told IANS that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister will take this matter up with his Kerala counterpart and try to convince him of the necessity of maintaining the FRL of Siruvani dam so that drinking water for Coimbatore is not affected.

Mullaperiyar dam issue which is again a contentious one between Kerala and Tamil Nadu will also come for discussion during the meeting between the two Chief Ministers.