Amid the simmering Mullaperiar dam row, the Tamil Nadu Government today announced the setting up of a memorial for British engineer Col Penny Cuick, who had constructed the dam at Lower Camp in Theni district over 116 years ago
“I am happy to announce that a memorial to thankfully remember Cuick will be built at a cost of Rs 1 crore and over 2,500 sq ft at the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board premises in Lower Camp. Upon its completion, Cuick's grandson will be invited for its inauguration,” the Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa said in a statement here, adding a statue of the engineer will also be installed there.
She said the late army engineer had even sold his property and completed the project amidst much difficulty and hardship.
He had used materials such as lime kurki along with big stones to construct the dam-based on the principle of gravity, which she said, had the strength to withstand tremors and therefore the “dam is strong even today.”
Tamil Nadu and Kerala are locked in a bitter row over the more than 116-year-old dam, with the latter wanting to replace it with a new one citing safety reasons while Tamil Nadu has held that the dam was strong. A case is on before the Supreme Court.