An explanation has been sought from a police officer on duty at the Mullaperiyar dam in connection with security lapses in allowing unauthorised entry of four persons to the dam on Sunday.
As per the rule, public entry is not permitted in the dam area. Four persons, including retired officers of the Kerala Police from Kumily, illegally entered the dam along with a Tamil Nadu Water Resources official in a Tamil Nadu boat. It was not entered in the police register.
The instance was not reported to the DySP and it was recorded only after the DySP came to know about it. The DySP has sought an explanation and a report will be submitted to the District Police Chief, sources said.
A case for illegal entry was registered only after the DySP came to know about it and sought an explanation. The four persons who illegally entered the dam were retired sub-inspectors Abdul Salam and Rahim, John Varghese, a Delhi Police officer, and his son, Varghese John.
When an official on duty is visiting the dam, Mullaperiyar police station should be informed and the same entered in the police registry. The four persons were allowed entry without security check, which has been reported as a serious lapse on the part of the police.
MP impleads in case
Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose has submitted an application for impleading in a case given by the Save Kerala Brigade in the Supreme Court for decommissioning the Mullaperiyar dam.
The application says the age of the dam decided by engineers at the time of its construction was 50 years. The structure has exceeded a period twice more than that. In case of a dam burst, four dams downstream will also be destroyed and water from the dam will reach the Arabian Sea within an hour. Thousands of people living downstream will be wiped out in case of a dam burst. The application also sought reducing the maximum allowed water level to 130 ft.
